THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 
MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


Gardening  for  Pleasure. 


A   GUIDE   TO   THE   AMATEUR  IN   THE 


FRUIT,  VEGETABLE,  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN, 


WITH   FULL  DIRECTIONS   FOR  THE 


GREENHOUSE,  CONSERVATORY,  AND  WINDOW-GARDEN. 


BY 

PETER    HENDERSON, 

AUTHOB  OP  " GARDENING  FOB  PROFIT,"  AND  "PRACTICAL  PLOBICULTUBK," 


JEBSEY  CITY  HEIGHTS,  N.  J. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


NEW   YORK: 

ORANGE    JUDD     COMPANY, 

751    BROADWAY. 

1883. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1875,  by  the 

ORANGE   JUDD   COMPANY, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


36  fr 

• 
I 


CONTENTS. 


Introduction 7 

CHAPTER  I. 
Soil  and  Location 9 

CHAPTER  H. 
Drainage 10 

CHAPTER  III. 
Preparation  of  the  Ground 13 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Walks 14 

CHAPTER  V. 
Manures 16 

CHAPTER  VI. 
How  to  Use  Concentrated  Fertilizers 18 

CHAPTER  VH. 
Special  Fertilizers  for  Particular  Plants 21 

CHAPTER  Vm. 
The  Lawn 22 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Design  for  Garden 25 

CHAPTER  X. 
Planting  of  Lawns  and  Flower-Beds 30 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Fall,  or  Holland  Bulbs 3g 

CHAPTER  XH. 
Propagation  of  Plants  by  Seeds 39 

CHAPTER  Xm. 
Propagation  of  Plants  by  Cuttings 43 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Propagating  by  Layering 45 

CHAPTER  XV. 
About  Graf  ting  and  Budding 47 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
How  Grafting  and  Budding  are  Done 51 

(3) 


IV  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Treatment  of  Tropical  Bulbs,  Seeds,  etc 57 

CHAPTER  XVHI. 
The  Potting  of  Plants 6° 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Winter  Flowering  Plants 62 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Unhealthy  Plants— The  Remedy 67 

CHAPTER 
Plants  Suited  for  Summer  Decoration 

CHAPTER 

Hanging  Baskets "^ 

CHAPTER  XXm. 
Window  Gardening 75 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Parlor  Gardening,  or  the  Cultivation  of  Plants  in  Rooms 77 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Wardian  Cases,  Ferneries,  Jardinieres 82 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
Winter-Forcing  the  Lily  of  the  Valley 84 

CHAPTER  XXVH. 
Greenhouses  Attached  to  Dwellings... 87 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
A  Detached  Greenhouse  or  Grapery  90 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Heating  by  Hot  Water 95 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
Greenhouse  or  Pits  Without  Artificial  Heat 98 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
Combined  Cellar  and  Greenhouse 99 

CHAPTER  XXX11. 
Hot-Beds 102 

CHAPTER  XXXHI. 
Shrubs,  Climbers,  and  Trees — 104 

CHAPTER  XXXI V. 
Hardy  Herbaceous  Perennials 107 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
Annual  Flowering  Plants 112 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
Flowers  which  will  Grow  in  the  Shade 114 

CHAPTER  XXX VII. 
Insects...  ...115 


CONTENTS.  V 

CHAPTER  XXXVm. 
Mildew 120 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 
FrozenPlants 121 

CHAPTER  XL. 
Mulching 122 

CHAPTER  XLI. 
Are  Plants  in  Rooms  Injurious  to  Health 124 

CHAPTER  XLH. 
Shading 125 

CHAPTER  XLTTT, 
The  Law  of  Colors  in  Flowers 128 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
Pruning 133 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Hardy  Grapes 133 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
Cold  Grapery 144 

CHAPTER  XLVH. 
The  Hot-House  or  Forcing  Grapery 150 

CHAPTER  XLVIIL 
The  Strawberry 153 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 
Cottage-Gardening— A  Digression 175 

CHAPTER  L. 
The  Vegetable  Garden 177 

CHAPTER  LI. 

Garden  Implements 223 

Monthly  Calendar  of  Operations 234 


INTRODUCTION. 


I  have  endeavored  in  writing  ( '  Gardening  for  Pleasure," 
to  divest  it,  as  far  as  I  was  competent  to  do  so,  of  the 
technical  terms  and  phrases  which  professional  gar- 
deners use  in  writing  or  talking  on  matters  relating  to 
horticulture  ;  and  to  use  the  plainest  language  at  my 
command  in  describing  the  simplest  methods  of  culture. 
Whether  I  have  succeeded  in  making  the  subject  as  clear 
as  I  have  desired  to  do,  those  who  read  the  work  must 
decide. 

My  aim  in  writing  the  book  was  to  make  it  such  as 
would  be  useful  to  the  occupant  of  a  city  lot,  or  to  the 
possessor  of  a  few  window  plants,  as  well  as  to  the  owner 
of  a  country  residence  that  is  fully  appointed  in  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  the  cultivation  of  flowers,  fruits,  and 
vegetables.  The  necessity  for  such  a  book  has  been  made 
evident  to  me  by  the  inquiries  from  hundreds  of  ama- 
teurs in  gardening  ;  inquiries  to  many  of  which  neither 
of  my  previous  works,  ("Gardening  for  Profit,"  or 
"Practical  Floriculture,")  furnished  proper  replies  ;  the 
one  being  written  mainly  for  information  of  the  vegetable 
market  gardener,  and  the  other  for  the  commercial  florist. 

PETER  HENDERSON. 

JEBSEY  CITY,  N.  JM  Oct.,  1875. 


(7) 


Gardening  for  Pleasure, 


CHAPTER    I. 

SOIL    AND    LOCATION. 

It  is  rare  in  determining  the  site  for  a  residence,  that 
the  soil  is  taken  into  consideration,  and  in  consequence, 
we  sometimes  find  that  the  garden  surrounding  the 
house  presents  a  barren  appearance,  that  nothing  can 
remedy  short  of  the  placing  a  foot  of  good  soil  over  the 
whole  surface.  This  condition  is  not  so  often  due 
to  the  natural  poverty  of  the  soil,  as  caused  by  grading 
off  the  surface  soil,  or  by  filling  up  to  the  desired  grade 
with  the  material  thrown  out  in  excavating  the  cellars, 
or  other  subsoil,  clay,  or  gravelly  material,  and  placing 
these  over  the  soil  intended  for  the  garden.  This  is 
often  done  for  the  convenience  of  contractors,  to  the 
great  injury  of  the  proprietor,  without  either  being 
aware  of  the  bad  results.  As  a  good  soil  will  tend  more 
than  all  else  to  give  satisfactory  results  in  garden  opera- 
tions, it  is  all  important  to  secure  it.  When  discretion 
can  be  used  in  deciding  on  a  location,  one  should  be 
chosen  that  has  naturally  a  suitable  soil,  rather  than  to 
attempt  to  make  it  so  by  carting  a  foot  of  good  soil  over 
the  bad,  which  would  be  found  not  only  very  expensive, 
but  in  many  situations,  next  to  impracticable.  I  have 
(9) 


10  GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 

before  said,  in  some  of  my  writings  on  this  subject,  that 
the  soil  best  suited  for  all  garden  purposes,  is  what  is 
known  as  "sandy  loam,"  not  less  than  ten  inches  deep, 
overlying  a  subsoil  of  sand  or  gravel.  Such  a  soil 
rarely  requires  drainage,  is  easier  worked,  and  gives  bet- 
ter results  than  that  known  as  "  clayey  loam,"  which 
overlays  a  putty-like  subsoil  of  blue  or  yellow  clay, 
which  must  be  drained  thoroughly  before  a  seed  is  sown 
or  plant  set  out,  or  there  will  be  no  satisfactory  reward 
for  the  labor.  The  location,  if  choice  can  be  made, 
should  be  such  as  will  allow  the  garden  to  slope  gently, 
(say  one  foot  in  a  hundred),  to  the  south  or  south-east, 
and  if  protected  by  hills  or  timber  to  the  north-west, 
so  much  the  better.  If  not  protected  naturally,  a  hedge 
of  Hemlock  Spruce,  or  Norway  Firs,  planted  on  the 
northern  and  western  side  of  the  site  intended  for  the 
garden,  would  be  of  great  advantage.  These  evergreens 
can  be  bought  from  2  to  3  feet  high,  at  from  $15  to  $25 
per  100  ;  and  should  be  planted  according  to  size,  from  2 
to  3  feet  apart,  making  a  cheap  and  ever  improving  screen 
or  fence,  which  may  be  trimmed  to  any  required  hight 
or  thickness. 


CHAPTER    II. 

DRAINAGE. 

As  drainage  will  be  in  many  instances  indispensable  to 
success,  I  will  briefly  state  a  few  of  the  simplest  methods 
that  may  be  adopted,  premising  that  it  is  utterly  useless 
to  expect  to  cultivate  any  soil  satisfactorily  that  does 
not  freely  and  rapidly  carry  off  the  surface  water.  An 
expert  in  soils  can  determine  almost  to  a  certainty  by 
digging  down  two  or  three  feet,  whether  or  not  a  soil 


DRAINAGE. 


11 


requires  drainage,  but  the  safest  guide  for  the  inexperi- 
enced is  to  judge  by  the  growing  crops  in  his  neighbor- 
hood. If  on  a  similar  soil  good  crops  of  corn,  pota- 
toes, or  hay,  are  found  on  undrain- 
ed  soil,  then  it  is  certain  there  is 
no  necessity  to  drain,  for  no  matter 
how  cultivated,  or  how  heavily  ma- 
nured land  is,  there  can  never  be  a 
good  crop  raised  in  any  season,  if 
the  soil  is  water-logged.  If  the 
place  to  be  drained  is  of  large  ex- 
tent, and  the  ground  nearly  level, 
it  will  always  be  safer  to  call  in  the 
services  of  an  engineer  to  give  the 
proper  levels  and  indicate  the 
necessary  fall,  which  should  never 
be  less  than  half  a  foot  in  the  hundred,  and  if  more  can  be 
had,  so  much  the  better.  In  heavy,  clayey  soils,  we 
make  our  lateral  drains  three  feet  deep  and  fifteen  feet 
apart,  where  there  is  less  clay  in  the  subsoil,  we  make 
them  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  apart,  and  four  feet 
ieep.  If  stones  are  plenty  on  the  ground,  they  may  be 
profitably  used  in  filling  up  the  excavated  ditch  to  half 
its  depth,  as  shown  in  figure  1,  and  which  is  known  as  a 
rubble  drain,  using  the  larger  stones  at  the  bottom,  and 


Fig.  2.— HORSE-SHOE  DBAIN-TILE. 

smaller  at  top,  and  covering  over  with  inverted  sods,  to 
keep  the  soil  from  being  washed  in  among  the  stones, 
and  thus  choking  up  the  drain.  But  when  they  can  be 
obtained  at  reasonable  price,  the  best  and  most  durable 
draining  is  that  done  by  tiles.  It  makes  but  little  dif- 
ference whether  the  tile  used  is  the  round  with  collars, 


12  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

or  the  horse-shoe ;  we  rather  prefer  the  latter,  particu- 
larly if  the  bottom  of  the  drain  is  "  spongy  ; "  we  then 
use  a  board  for  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  as  shown  in  fig- 
ure 2.  This  board  is  a  common  one  of  hemlock  or 
spruce,  cut  in  four  pieces  ;  it  is  ripped  through  the  mid- 
dle, and  then  these  parts  split  in  two,  making  boards 
of  five  inches  wide  by  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  thus 
making  the  common  hemlock  board  stretch  out  to  a 
length  of  fifty  feet.  It  is  often  a  very  troublesome  mat- 
ter to  get  the  few  drain  tiles  necessary  to  drain  a  small 
garden,  and  in  such  cases  an  excellent  and  cheap  substi- 
tute can  be  had  by  using  one  of  boards.  Take  ordinary 
rough  boards,  pine,  hemlock,  or  spruce,  and  cut  them  into 
widths  of  three  or  four  inches,  nail  them  together  so  as  to 


Fig.  3. — TRIANGULAR  BOARD  DRAIN. 

form  a  triangular  pipe,  as  represented  in  figure  3,  taking 
care  to  "  break  the  joints "  in  putting  the  lengths  to- 
gether; care  must  be  taken  that  the  boards  are  not 
nailed  together  too  closely,  else  they  might  swell  so  as  to 
prevent  the  water  passing  into  the  drain  to  be  carried 
off.  These  drains  are  usually  set  with  a  -  flat  side  down, 
but  they  will  keep  clear  better,  if  put  with  a  point  down, 
though  it  is  more  trouble  to  lay  them.  Drains  made  in 
this  way  will  last  much  longer  than  might  be  supposed. 
Last  season  I  came  across  some  wooden  drains  that  I 
had  put  down  over  twenty  years  before,  and  they  seemed 
sound  enough  to  last  twenty  years  longer. 


PREPARATION  OF  THE  GROUND.          13 

OHAPTEK    III. 

PREPARATION    OF    THE    GROUND 

.  After  draining,  (if  draining  is  necessary),  comes  the 
preparation  of  the  soil.  Presuming  that  the  ground 
where  the  new  garden  is  to  be  made  is  an  open  space, 
clear  of  trees  or  other  obstructions,  there  is  no  cultiva- 
tion so  cheap  and  yet  so  thorough,  as  plowing  and  har- 
rowing. To  do  this  properly,  the  ordinary  plow  should 
be  followed  by  the  subsoil  plow,  stirring  the  subsoil  up 
about  fifteen  inches  deep,  so  that  the  water  will  pass 
through  to  the  drains,  natural  or  artificial,  freely.  After 
the  plow  and  subsoiler,  follows  the  harrow,  which  should 
be  weighted,  so  that  the  teeth  sink  six  inches  into  the 
soil,  in  order  to  completely  pulverize  it.  In  Europe,  it 
would  be  considered  sacrilege  to  use  a  plow  or  harrow  in 
the  preparation  of  a  private  garden,  and  most  of  old- 
country  gardeners  among  us  will  stand  aghast  at  such  ad- 
vice, but  I  have  been  through  all  parts  of  the  work,  and 
am  well  satisfied,  from  no  limited  practice,  that  plowing 
and  harrowing  will  not  only  do  the  work  at  one-fourth 
of  the  cost,  but  in  a  better  manner  than  the  ordinary 
digging  or  trenching  with  the  spade.  Let  me  here  cau- 
tion that  great  care  be  taken  never  to  plow,  dig,  harrow, 
rake,  or  hoe  ground  when  wet ;  if  work  must  be  done, 
pull  out  weeds,  or  set  plants,  if  you  will,  but  never,  under 
any  circumstances,  stir  the  soil  in  preparation  for  a  crop 
until  it  is  dry  enough  not  to  clog.  If  stirred  while  wet, 
the  particles  stick  together,  and  the  crop  is  not  only  in- 
jured for  the  season,  but  in  some  soils  the  bad  effects 
show  for  years. 


14  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

CHAPTEE    IV. 

WALKS. 

It  is  no  unusual  thing  to  see  the  owner  of  a  neat  cot- 
tage make  himself  perfectly  ridiculous  by  the  way  in 
which  he  lays  out  the  walk  from  the  street  to  his  front 
door.  There  is  a  prevailing  opinion  that  such  walks 
should  be  curved  ones,  and  gentlemen,  often  otherwise 
shrewd  and  intelligent,  place  themselves  without  question 
in  the  hands  of  some  self-styled  "  garden  architect," 
and  thus  manage  to  make  themselves  the  laughing  stock 
of  a  neighborhood.  There  was  a  well  marked  instance 
of  this  in  a  garden  occupying  a  block  in  almost  the  cen- 
ter of  Jersey  City,  where  a  man  pretending  to  have  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  induced  the  proprietor  to  have 
a  walk  running  about  one  hundred  yards  from  the  street 
to  the  house,  made  so  curved  that  its  length  was  nearly 
twice  that  distance.  It  was  hard  on  the  butcher's  and 
grocer's  boys,  and  it  was  said  that  even  book-peddlers  and 
sewing-machine  agents,  and  lightning-rod  men,  looked 
ruefully  at  it  and  left  him  in  peace.  Some  old  authority 
on  this  subject  says,  that  there  "  never  should  be  any 
deviation  from  a  straight  line  unless  from  some  real  or 
apparent  cause."  So  if  curved  lines  are  insisted  on,  a 
tree,  rock,  or  building  must  be  placed  at  the  bend  as  a 
reason  for  going  around  such  obstacles.  It  will  be  evi- 
dent to  any  one  who  reflects  upon  the  matter,  that  a 
curved  walk  running  a  distance  of  a  hundred  yards  or  so 
from  the  street  to  the  house,  across  an  un  plan  ted  lawn, 
is  utterly  absurd.  All  short  foot- walks  from  the  street  to 
the  house  should  be  straight,  entering  from  the  street  at 
as  near  right  angles  as  possible,  and  leading  direct  to  the 
front  door.  There  should  be  no  necessity  for  a  carriage 
road  to  the  front  entrance  of  a  house,  unless  it  is  distant 


WALKS. 


15 


at  least  100  feet  from  the  street,  and  then  a  drive  is  best 
made  by  having  an  entrance  at  each  side  of  the  lot,  as 
given  in  figure  4,  presuming  that  the  width  of  the 
ground  is  500  feet,  and  the  distance  from  street  to  the 
front  door  is  150  feet.  Even  here  the  foot-walk  should 
be  direct.  The  width  of  the  roads  or  walks  must  be 
governed  by  the  extent  of  the  grounds.  For  carriage- 
way the  width  should  not  be  less  than  ten  feet,  and  for 
foot-walks,  five  feet.  Nothing  is  more  annoying  than  to 
have  a  shower-bath  in  early  morning  from  the  dew  from 

I        HOUSE        1 


500  Ft 


FRONT 


STREET 


Fig.  4. — APPROACH  TO  A  HOUSE — DRIVE  AND  PATH. 

an  overhanging  branch  in  your  narrow  walk.  We  often 
see  gardens  of  considerable  pretentions  where  the  walks 
are  not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  where  it  is  utterly  im- 
possible for  two  persons  to  walk  abreast  without  getting 
their  dresses  torn  or  faces  scratched  by  overhanging 
branches.  Besides,  it  argues  a  narrowness  in  the 
owner,  particularly  if  the  grounds  are  at  all  extensive, 
and  looks  as  if  he  were  determined  to  cultivate  every 
available  foot  of  land.  Of  course  it  is  another  matter 
when  the  garden  plot  is  limited  to  the  width  of  a  city 
lot,  (20  or  25  feet)  ;  then  such  economy  of  space  is  per- 
fectly excusable.  The  character  of  the  soil  must  in  a 
great  measure  determine  the  manner  of  making  the  road. 
Every  one  must  have  noticed  that  after  a  heavy  rain,  un- 
paved  streets  in  some  districts  remain  next  to  impassable 
for  many  hours,  while  in  others,  after  the  same  amount 


16  GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 

of  rain,  the  roads  will  seem  firm  and  comparatively  dry. 
In  the  former  all  carriage  roads,  and  even  foot-walks,  to 
have  any  satisfaction  from  them,  should  have  their  founda- 
tions formed  something  like  that  shown  in  figure  5  ;  this 
gives  thorough  drainage  for  the  water  at  each  side,  and  a 
depth  of  from  one  foot  at  center  to  two  feet  on  sides  of 
rubble  stone  and  gravel  to  form  the  bed  of  the  road  or 
walk  ;  but  in  sandy  or  gravelly  soils,  through  which  the 


Fig.  5.— SECTION  OP  BOAD  WITH  DRAIN  EACH  SIDE. 

water  passes  quickly,  no  such  expense  is  necessary,  as  an 
equally  good  road  may  be  made  by  five .  or  six  inches  of 
gravel.  In  foot-walks  on  such  soils,  I  have  found  that 
three  or  four  inches  of  gravel  mixed  with  one  fourth  its 
bulk  of  cement  to  "bind,"  when  watered  and  well  rolled, 
makes  an  excellent  smooth  walk,  and  one  in  which,  be- 
cause of  its  hardness,  there  is  no  trouble  with  weeds. 


CHAPTER    V. 

MANURES. 

Whether  one  wishes  to  cultivate  vegetables,  fruits,  or 
flowers,  all  soils,  to  give  good  results,  sooner  or  later  need 
manure  ;  this  is  more  particularly  the  case  with  what  are 
known  as  "  vegetables,"  these  being  usually  quick  grow- 
ing, succulent  plants.  No  "fertilizer"  answers  so  well 
for  all  purposes  as  thoroughly  decayed  stable  manure, 
whether  from  horse  or  cow  stable,  it  makes  but  little  dif- 
ference, except  that  that  from  the  horse  stables  is  best 
suited  for  heavy  soils,  while  that  from  the  cow-stables 


MANUKES.  17 

suits  best  for  light  soils.  The  quantity  used  for  vegeta- 
bles should  not  be  less  than  would  cover  the  whole  sur- 
face of  the  ground  at  least  three  inches  deep,  and  it 
should  be  mixed  with  the  soil  as  thoroughly  as  possible 
by  plowing  or  spading.  In  the  absence  of  stable  manure, 
recourse  must  be  had  to  concentrated  fertilizers,  the  best 
of  which  are  Peruvian  guano  and  bone  dust.  Here  a  word 
of  caution  is  necessary  as  to  the  quantity  to  be  used  ;  as 
their  fertilizing  qualities  are  concentrated,  instead  of 
being  diffused  as  in  stable  manure ;  if  either  guano  or 
bone  dust,  or  fertilizers  of  similar  character,  come  di- 
rectly in  contact  in  large  quantities,  with  the  roots  of 
plants,  it  injures  them  beyond  remedy,  hence  in  the  use 
of  these  the  necessity  for  caution.  In  our  large  field 
practice  in  vegetable  growing,  we  use  about  2,000  Ibs. 
per  acre  of  guano,  sowing  it  on  the  surface  of  the  ground 
after  plowing,  and  then  harrowing  it  in  so  as  to  mix  it 
with  the  soil  to  the  depth  of  five  or  six  inches.  Now,  as 
there  are  4,840  square  yards  in  an  acre,  it  will  be  seen  that 
something  more  than  half  a  pound  of  guano  or  bone  dust 
is  required  for  every  square  yard  of  surface  to  be  fertilized. 
This  quantity  will  just  nicely  cover  the  surface,  about  as 
thick  as  the  sand  on  a  sanded  floor ;  after  spreading  on 
the  dug  surface,  it  should  be  mixed  with  the  soil  with  a 
spading  fork  or  long-toothed  rake  to  the  depth  of  five  or 
six  inches,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  more  thoroughly  it 
is  mixed  with  the  soil  the  better  will  be  the  result.  If 
used  in  "hills"  for  corn,  tomatoes,  melons,  etc.,  the 
same  proportionate  quantity  is  to  be  applied,  and  the 
mixing  must  be  equally  thorough. 


18  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

HOW    TO    USE    CONCENTRATED    FERTILIZERS. 

Whatever  kind  of  concentrated  fertilizer  may  be  used, 
I  find  it  well  repays  the  labor  to  prepare  it  in  the  follow- 
ing manner:  to  every  bushel  of  fertilizer,  add  three  bush- 
els of  either  leaf -mold  (from  the  woods),  well  pulverized 
muck,  sweepings  from  a  paved  street,  or — in  the  absence 
of  either  of  the  above — common  garden  soil.  In  every 
case  the  material  employed  must  be  as  dry  as  it  is  possi- 
ble to  procure  it.  "When  guano  is  used,  be  careful  to 
have  it  thoroughly  pulverized  and  broken  up  before  mix- 
ing with  the  other  ingredients.  The  fertilizer  must  be 
well  mixed  with  the  soil  or  mold  used  by  turning  it  at 
least  twice.  This  mixing  should  be  done  in  winter,  or 
early  spring,  and  the  material  packed  away  in  barrels 
in  a  dry  place  for  at  least  a  month  before  using  it.  The 
main  object  of  this  operation  is  for  the  better  separation 
and  division  of  the  fertilizer,  so  that  when  applied,  it 
can  be  more  regularly  distributed  over  the  land  ;  besides 
this,  no  doubt  the  fertilizing  qualities  of  the  leaf -mold 
or  other  substance  are  developed  by  this  treatment.  Ex- 
periment has  shown  that  this  method  of  using  concentra- 
ted fertilizers  of  nearly  all  kinds,  materially  increases 
their  value.  One  of  the  most  successful  market-garden- 
ers in  our  neighborhood,  has  adopted  this  method  for 
years,  and  in  extensive  experiments  with  different  kinds 
of  fertilizers,  with  and  without  being  mixed,  finds  a  sav- 
ing of  quite  one-third  in  quantity  in  thus  treating  them. 
He  finds  that  1,200  Ibs.  of  guano,  mixed  with  two  tons 
of  garden  soil,  and  sown  over  the  surface  after  plowing, 
and  then  harrowed  in,  is  equal  in  effect  to  2,000  Ibs. 
of  guano  used  without  mixing. 


HOW  TO   USE   COKCEtfTKATED   FEETILIZEES.  19 

We  have  ourselves  experimented  with  guano,  blood 
and  bone,  and  bone  flour,  with  nearly  like  results,  and  as 
a  top  dressing  for  grass,  we  think  the  advantage  of  mix- 
ing is  even  more  marked.  When  fertilizers  are  applied 
to*  corn,  potatoes,  tomatoes,  etc.,  in  hills  or  drills,  it  is 
not  only  more  economical  to  mix  in  this  manner,  but 
much  safer  in  inexperienced  hands  ;  for  when  any  strong 
fertilizer  is  used  pure,  injury  is  often  done  to  the  roots 
by  their  coming  in  contact  with  it  in  too  great  quantity 
in  the  raw  state,  owing  to  imperfect  mixing  in  the  hill 
or  drill,  while,  if  composted  as  advised  above,  the  danger 
is  much  less.  We  are  often  asked  as  to  the  quantity  to 
be  applied  to  different  garden  crops.  Taking  guano  as 
a  basis,  we  would  recommend  for  all  vegetable  crops,  if 
earliness  and  good  quality  are  desired,  the  use  of  not  less 
than  1,200  Ibs.  per  acre,  (an  acre  contains  4,840  square 
yards,  and  cultivators  for  private  use  can  easily  estimate 
from  this  the  quantity  they  require  for  any  area),  mixed 
with  two  tons  of  either  of  the  materials  recommended. 
This  quantity  is  used  broadcast  by  sowing  on  the  ground 
after  plowing,  and  deeply  and  thoroughly  harrowing  in, 
or  if  in  small  gardens,  forked  in  lightly  with  the  prongs 
of  a  garden  fork  or  long  toothed  steel  rake.  When  ap- 
plied in  hills  or  drills,  from  100  to  300  Ibs.  should  be 
used  to  the  acre,  according  to  the  distance  of  these  apart, 
mixing  with  soil,  etc. ,  as  already  directed. 

In  regard  to  which  of  the  fertilizers  is  most  desirable, 
we  find  but  little  difference,  provided  each  is  pure.  Gu- 
ano at  $80  per  ton,  is  relatively  as  cheap  as  blood  and 
bone  fertilizer  at  $65  ;  bone  flour  at  $50,  or  superphos- 
phate at  $40  ;  for  in  the  lower  priced  articles  we  find  we 
are  obliged  to  increase  the  quantity  to  obtain  the  same 
results,  so  that  the  cost  is  nearly  alike  whichever  be 
used.  The  all  important  point  is  the  purity  of  the  arti- 
cle, a  matter  that  few  working  farmers  or  gardeners  ever 
attempt  to  decide  except  by  the  results  in  culture,  hence 


20  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

we  advise  each  one  who  has  been  using  a  fertilizer  that 
has  proved  satisfactory,  to  experiment  but  lightly  with 
anot'^r  until  the  new  article  has  proved  its  merits.  The 
competition  in  the  manufacture  of  articles  so  much  in 
use  as  fertilizers,  has  in  many  instances  forced  down 
prices  below  t_-j  point  at  which  they  can  be  produced  in 
a  pure  state,  hence  the  widespread  adulteration  with 
"  salt  cake,"  "plaster,"  and  other  articles  utterly  worth- 
less but  to  make  weight.  Next  in  meanness  to  the  quack 
that  extracts  money  from  a  poor  consumptive  for  his  vile 
nostrums,  is  the  man  who  compels  the  poor  farmer  or 
gardener,,  may  be  a  thousand  miles  away  struggling  for 
an  existence,  to  pay  freight  on  the  sand  mixed  with  his 
guano,  or  the  plaster  in  his  bone  dust.  In  this  relation 
I  am  reminded  of  a  retribution  that  fell  on  the  "  Sands 
of  Life  man,"  who  figured  so  conspicuously  a  few  years 
ago  in  New  York.  The  advertisement  of  this  philan- 
thropic gentleman,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  that  "  A 
retired  clergyman  whose  Sands  of  Life  had  nearly  run 
out,"  would  for  a  consideration  tell  how  the  "  running 
out "  could  be  stopped  in  others.  A  kind  hearted  fellow 
in  Illinois,  deeply  sympathizing  with  the  old  gentleman 
on  account  of  his  loss  of  "  sand,"  sent  him  by  express — 
but  forgot  to  prepay — a  thousand  pounds  of  the  article  ! 
It  is  reported  that  the  ' '  retired  clergyman  "  on  opening 
the  cask,  expressed  himself  in  a  manner  not  only  ungrate- 
ful, but  utterly  unclerical.  We  counsel  no  vengeance, 
but  if  some  of  these  sand-mixing  guano  men  could  have 
the  sand  sifted  out  by  their  victims  with  compound  in- 
terest added,  and  returned  to  them  under  the  fostering 
care  of  an  express  company,  it  would  be  but  even  handed 
justice, 


SPECIAL  FERTILIZERS  FOR  PARTICULAR  PLANTS.      21 

CHAPTER    VII. 

SPECIAL    FERTILIZERS    FOR    PARTICULAR    PLANTS. 

A  man  called  at  my  office  a  few  years  ago  with  some 
dozen  bottles  as  samples  of  special  manures,  indispensa- 
ble, lie  said,  as  fertilizers  for  certain  kinds  of  plants. 
He  had  those  with  him  that  he  claimed  to  be  specially 
prepared  for  cabbage,  corn,  potatoes,  wheat,  grass,  lawns, 
beets,  etc. ,  etc.  He  even  invaded  Flora's  realm,  and  de- 
clared that  his  nostrum  for  roses  was  a  specific  for  any 
languid  capers  of  this  sometimes  rather  coquettish  queen 
of  flowers.  His  own  arguments,  which  were  rather 
plausible  and  glibly  uttered,  were  backed  up  by  numer- 
ous certificates — authentic,  I  have  no  doubt — where  his 
"potato  fertilizer"  had  worked  wonders  with  some, 
with  others  his  f '  corn  manure  "  had  been  of  undoubted 
benefit,  and  so  on  all  through  the  list. 

Now,  I  have  no  reason  to  say  that  the  vender  of  these 
fertilizers  was  a  quack,  except  the  broad  fact,  gathered 
from  an  experience  of  thirty  years,  that  has  shown  me 
that  it  makes  but  little  difference  with  what  fertilizer  a 
crop  is  treated,  provided  the  soil  is  properly  pulverized 
and  the  fertilizer  applied  in  proper  proportions  according 
to  its  strength.  Had  all  his  separate  kinds  of  fertilizers 
been  taken  from  the  same  bag,  (provided  that  bag  coa- 
tained  a  good  article  of  bone-dust  or  guano),  the  resutt 
to  his  patrons  would  have  been  the  same,  whether  he 
had  used  it  on  one  or  all  of  the  crops  that  he  had  special 
prescriptions  for. 

There  are  few  market  gardeners  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York  but  who  have  at  one  time  or  another  been  obliged 
to  take  anything  they  could  get  for  fertilizing  purposes, 
and  the  difference  has  never  been  perceptible  when  ma- 
nure from  horse  stables  or  cow  stables  has  been  applied, 


22  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

or  when  $100  per  acre  has  been  expended  for  bone-dust 
or  Peruvian  guano,  and  these  all  used  on  a  dozen  dif- 
ferent crops  without  any  discrimination.  Agricultural 
chemistry  may  be  all  very  well  in  some  respects,  but  if 
it  gets  down  to  such  hair-splitting  niceties  as  to  analyze 
scores  of  special  plants,  and  tell  us  that  we  must  feed 
each  with  only  just  such  food  as  the  analysis  show  it  to  be 
composed  of,  then  our  common  sense,  born  of  practical 
experience,  must  scout  and  ridicule  such  nonsense. 

Plants,  like  animals,  are  not  so  much  kept  in  good 
health  by  the  special  kind  of  food  given  as  by  the  proper 
quantity  and  conditions  surrounding  the  individual  when 
the  food  is  received,  and  what  proper  temperature  and 
pulverization  of  soil  may  be  to  the  plant,  air  and  exercise 
and  also  proper  temperature  are  the  corresponding  con- 
ditions necessary  for  healthy  animal  life.  Who  will  say 
that  the  beef -fed  English  laborer  is  in  any  way  the  phys- 
ical superior  of  the  Irishman  or  Scotchman  whose  daily 
food  has  been  only  potatoes  and  oat-meal  ?  You  get 
usually  fine  and  nearly  equal  development  in  each  case, 
but  it  is  a  condition  due  to  a  natural  use  of  the  muscles 
in  the  open  air  in  a  congenial  climate  rather  than  to 
anything  special  in  the  food.  It  would  be  quite  as  rea- 
sonable to  tell  us  that  a  special  food,  chemically  consid- 
ered, is  necessary  for  each  class  of  our  domestic  animals 
as  for  our  domestic  plants,  and  none  but  the  veriest 
charlatan  or  ignoramus  will  do  either. 


CHAPTER    VIIL 

THE    LAWN. 

Since  the  introduction  of  the  lawn-mowers,  the  keep- 
ing of  the  lawn  has  been  so  simplified  that  no  suburban 
residence  is  complete  without  one,  and  there  is  now  no 


THE  LAWN.  23 

more  excuse  for  tall  grass  "  going  to  hay"  in  the  door 
yard  than  there  would  be  for  cobwebs  taking  possession  of 
the  rooms  inside  the  dwelling.  We  occasionally  see  some 
parsimonious  individual,  even  now,  who  remembers  that 
in  his  grandfather's  days,  grass  was  allowed  to  grow  for 
the  food  of  the  "critters,"  and  he  leaves  it  for  food  for 
his  "critters"  still.  Though  at  the  same  time  his  furniture 
inside,  that  nobody  but  himself  ever  sees,  or  has  an  op- 
portunity to  admire,  for  such  men  are  not  troubled  with 
friends,  may  have  cost  him  $5,000  or  $10,000.  We  have 
two  or  three  notable  examples  of  this  kind  in  my  imme- 
diate neighborhood,  but  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that 
such  neighbors  are  not  numerous,  for  the  example  of 
the  majority  will  soon  shame  them  into  decency.  To 
have  a  lawn  in  first  rate  condition,  the  ground  must  be 
put  in  order  in  the  way  described  under  the  heads  of 
te  Draining"  and  "  Preparation  of  the  Soil,"  for  if  these 
are  necessary  anywhere,  they  are  still  more  necessary  for 
the  lawn,  the  soil  of  which  should  be  as  thoroughly  pul- 
verized and  enriched  by  manure,  as  any  ground  intended 
for  the  cultivation  of  either  vegetables  or  fruits. 

Great  care  must  be  taken  to  have  the  surface  of  the 
ground  for  the  lawn,  (unless  a  very  large  one),  made 
perfectly  level,  for  if  this  is  not  done  before  the  lawn 
is  sown,  it  cannot  be  altered  but  at  great  expense 
and  inconvenience.  After  the  surface  is  made  level 
roughly,  it  should  be  further  smoothed  with  the  rake, 
and  all  stones  of  any  considerable  size  removed,  so  that 
the  surface  will  be  smooth  for  the  action  of  the  lawn- 
mower.  Wherever  the  extent  of  the  lawn  does  not  ex- 
ceed 2,500  square  feet,  and  where  sods  can  be  obtained 
from  a  suitable  pasture  near  at  hand  without  much  cost, 
the  best  way  to  make  the  lawn  is  to  sod  it,  but  before 
doing  so,  the  ground  should  be  rolled  or  beaten  down, 
particularly  if  any  portion  of  it  has  been  filled  in,  so  that 
there  may  be  no  "  settling  "  to  form  hollows  or  inequali- 


24  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

ties.  A  convenient  size  of  sod  to  lay  down  is  12  by  18 
inches,  and  of  a  thickness  of  2  inches,  in  laying  see  that 
the  edges  are  neatly  laid  together;  and  the  whole  firmly 
beaten  down  with  the  back  of  a  spade.  If  it  is  dry 
weather  when  the  work  is  done,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
thoroughly  drench  the  newly-laid  sod  for  a  week  or  so 
after  planting,  every  other  evening.  When  the  lawn  is 
too  extensive  to  be  sodded,  the  following  mixture  of  grass 
seed  may  be  used,  whic]i  we  have  found  to  make  an  ex- 
cellent lawn : 

8  quarts  Rhode  Island  Bent  Grass. 

3  quarts  Creeping  Bent  Grass. 
10  quarts  Red  Top  Grass. 
10  quarts  Kentucky  Blue  Grass. 

1  quart  White  Clover. 

This  mixture  is  not  indispensable  to  the  formation  of  a 
good  lawn,  though  we  believe  it  to  be  the  best.  Some  of 
the  fine  lawns  seen  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  are  composed  al- 
most entirely  of  Rhode  Island  Bent  grass  mixed  with 
about  one-sixth  of  white  clover,  but  the  humidity  of  the 
atmosphere  there  has  no  doubt  more  to  do  with  the  rich- 
ness of  the  lawn  than  the  variety  of  grass  it  is  composed 
of.  I  may  here  caution  the  use  of  spurious  seed  for  this 
purpose.  It  is  no  uncommon  thing  that  either  through 
ignorance  or  short-sighted  economy,  (( hay-seed  "  is  taken 
direct  from  the  hay-loft  and  sown  to  form  the  lawn.  If 
from  good  hay,  the  seed  will  be  principally  timothy  and 
red  clover,  and  vain  would  be  all  the  attempts  to  get  a 
smooth  lawn  from  such  a  source.  It  would  be  about  as 
reasonable  to  expect  figs  from  thistles.  If  the  soil  is  rich, 
and  has  been  thoroughly  prepared,  three  bushels  per  acre 
will  be  sufficient,  but  if  thin  and  poor,  from  four  to  five 
bushels  had  better  be  sown.  If  sown  in  early  spring,  as 
soon  as  the  soil  is  dry  enough  to  work,  a  good  lawn  will 
be  formed  by  midsummer  the  first  year,  if  it  has  been 


DESIGN   FOR   GARDEN.  25 

mown  regularly  at  intervals  of  eight  or  ten  days.  The 
seed  must  be  sown  as  evenly  as  possible,  and  for  this  rea- 
son a  calm  day  must  be  chosen,  as  a  very  slight  wind  will 
throw  the  seed  into  heaps.  After  sowing,  the  ground 
may  be  lightly  harrowed  if  the  surface  is  large,  but  if 
not,  give  it  an  even  raking,  but  in  either  case  the  ground 
should  be  smoothed  down  with  a  roller  or  patted  with  a 
spade,  so  to  form  a  smooth  surface  to  be  mowed.  Al- 
though if  a  choice  can  be  had,  it  is  best  to  sow  the  lawn 
seed  in  early  spring,  yet  it  can  be  sown  nearly  as  profita- 
bly in  September,  or  in  the  more  southerly  states  in  Oc- 
tober, or  for  that  matter,  even  as  late  as  May  and  June 
in  spring,  only  if  so  late,  it  is  better  to  mix  one  quart  of 
oats  to  every  bushel  of  grass-seed,  that  the  oats  may 
shade  and  protect  the  young  grass  from  the  sun  until  it 
has  root  enough  to  support  itself.  But  if  sown  in  March 
or  April,  or  in  September  or  October,  there  is  no  need  of 
using  the  oats,  as  no  injury  will  be  done  by  the  sun  at 
these  seasons.  To  keep  the  lawn  in  proper  condition,  it 
should  be  mowed  over  once  every  week  if  the  weather  is 
moist,  and  not  less  than  once  in  two  weeks,  even  in  dry 
weather,  for  if  the  lawn  has  been  properly  made  in  the 
first  place,  and  "  top  dressed"  with  a  good  coat  of  well- 
rotted  manure  in  fall,  and  the  rough  raked  off  in  spring, 
the  weather  must  be  dry  and  hot  indeed  to  prevent  its 
growth. 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

DESIGN    FOR    GARDEN. 

As  this  book  is  intended  to  comprehend  all  the  wants 
of  a  cottage  or  suburban  garden,  including  flowers,  fruits, 
and  vegetables,  it  would  increase  its  size  too  much  to 

2 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


200  Feet  Front. 
Fig.  6. — DESIGN  FOB  IAY1NG  OUT  GROUNDS. 


DESIGK  FOE   GAKDEtf.  27 

give  a  great  variety  of  designs  for  the  flower-garden.  To 
those  that  require  such,  some  intelligent  landscape  gar- 
dener should  be  consulted.  Intelligent,  I  say,  for  nine 
out  of  ten  that  pretend  to  be  landscape  gardeners  are 
not ;  but  consult  a  man  able  to  draw  a  neat  design,  for 
if  he  cannot  do  that  he  is  not  a  very  safe  person  to  be 
intrusted  with  the  working  out  of  the  plan  of  another. 
You  are  careful  to  ascertain  that  the  architect  for  your 
house  is  a  man  of  education  and  intelligence  before  you 
entrust  yourself  in  his  hands,  but  when  it  comes  to  de- 
signing the  lawn  and  flower-grounds,  the  veriest  bog- 
trotter,  who  styles  himself  a  "  landscaper,"  is  too  often 
allowed  to  display  his  "  art,"  and  at  the  same  time  make 
you  ridiculous.  Eest  assured  that  if  such  a  pretender 
has  not  had  ambition  enough  to  become  fairly  well  in- 
structed, he  is  not  likely  to  show  much  taste  in  design- 
ing your  grounds. 

The  design,  (fig.  6),  shows  an  area  of  200  feet  by  350, 
or  a  plot  of  nearly  two  acres,  about  one-third  of  the 
whole  facing  the  street,  is  used  for  flower-garden  and  for 
dwelling,  the  two-thirds  in  the  rear  for  fruit  and  vegeta- 
ble grounds.  There  is  a  point  in  this  sketch,  to  which  I 
wish  to  call  attention,  as  it  is  one  too  often  lost  sight  of ; 
the  flower-garden  and  lawn  face  the  street,  while  the  fruit 
and  vegetable  grounds  are  at  the  rear  ;  the  view  of  these 
from  the  street  is  shut  out  upon  one  side  by  a  screen  or 
tall  hedge  of  evergreens,  H,  and  upon  the  other  by  a 
curvilinear  glass  structure,  G,  which  may  be  used  either 
as  a  grapery  or  a  greenhouse.  The  walk,  w,  passes  on 
each  side  of  the  house  to  connect  with  other  walks  at  the 
rear ;  the  beds,  F,  may  be  planted  in  ribbon  lines  either 
with  flowering  plants  or  those  with  brilliant  and  strongly 
contrasting  foliage.  The  flower-beds,  F,  each  side  of  the 
entrance  near  the  front,  may  be  made  of  any  form  that 
may  be  preferred ;  a  simple  circle  planted  as  suggested 
in  the  next  chapter,  will  produce  a  good  effect,  and  be 


GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 


200  Feet  Front. 
Fig.  7.— DESIGN  FOB  GROUNDS  WITH  CABBIAGE-DEIVE. 


DESIGN   FOR   GARDEN.  29 

more  easily  cared  for  than  beds  of  the  style  here  given  ; 
most  persons,  where  the  floral  ornamentation  is,  as  in  this 
case,  confined  to  a  few  effective  masses,  prefer  to  change 
not  only  the  manner  of  planting  such  beds  each  year,  but 
to  alter  their  form  occasionally.  The  unbroken  area  of 
lawn  at  c  is  intended  for  a  croquet  ground.  At  the  rear 
of  the  house  the  central  walk  is  spanned  by  a  grape  ar- 
bor, G  A,  if  one  wishes  the  vines  to  afford  shade,  or  a 
simple  trellis  may  run  each  side ;  the  borders  next  the 
fence  on  each  side  and  at  the  rear,  (not  shown  in  the 
plan),  may  also  be  used  for  grapes,  or  will  be  convenient 
for  raspberries,  currants,  and  other  small  fruits.  The 
large  plots,  v  F,  are  for  the  main  crops  of  vegetables  and 
fruits ;  asparagus,  rhubarb,  strawberries,  and  such  other 
crops  as  remain  year  after  year  without  being  disturbed, 
should  be  so  placed  at  the  outset  as  to  be  interfered  with 
as  little  as  possible  in  the  frequent  working  of  the  soil 
necessary  for  other  crops.  A  lot  of  this  size  will  require 
the  labor  of  one  man,  whose  time  must  be  exclusively 
devoted  to  the  garden,  and  to  nothing  else,  to  keep  it  in 
proper  order.  Such  is  the  extent,  and  something  near 
the  design  of  the  grounds  I  use  for  such  purposes.  I 
generally  have  selected  one  of  my  most  active  men  to 
take  charge  of  it,  and  find  he  has  plenty  to  do  to  do  it 
well.  A  second  design  (fig.  7)  shows  a  lot  of  the  same 
dimensions,  with  a  different  arrangement,  there  being  a 
stable,  s,  and  no  rear  entrance,  it  is  necessary  to  provide 
one  from  the  front,  and  in  order  to  secure  a  greater 
breadth  of  lawn,  the  house  is  placed  at  one  side  of  the 
center  of  the  grounds.  The  drive,  D,  in  the  design  is  made 
to  turn  around  a  group  of  flower-beds  of  fanciful  pattern, 
but  this  may  be  replaced  by  a  single  circle,  planted  as 
suggested  in  the  next  chapter,  or  by  a  group  of  ornamen- 
tal evergreen  or  other  shrubs.  In  this  design  the  cro- 
quet-ground is  at  c,  and  the  grape  arbor,  G  A,  is  used  to 
shut  out  the  view  of  the  vegetable  gronnds  from  the  street. 


30  GARDENING   FOE   PLEASURE. 

* 

A  row  of  closely  planted  evergreens  at  H  serves  to  break 
the  force  of  the  winds  ;  the  suggestions  as  to  the  other 
details  in  the  preceding  plan,  (fig.  6),  apply  to  this  also. 


CHAPTEK    X. 

PLANTING    OF    LAWNS    AND    FLOWER-BEDS. 

The  subject  of  lawn  planting,  including  the  proper 
setting  and  grouping  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and  their  most 
effective  disposal,  is  too  extended  for  the  scope  of  this 
book.  These  matters  belong  to  works  upon  landscape 
gardening,  and  are  ably  treated  in  those  by  Downing, 
Kemp,  Weidenmann,  Scott,  and  others.  But  the  plant- 
ing of  flower-beds  comes  properly  within  our  limits.  The 
old-fashioned  mixed  borders  of  four  or  six  feet  wide  along 
the  walks  of  the  fruit  or  vegetable  garden,  were  usually 
planted  with  hardy  herbaceous  plants,  the  tall  growing  at 
the  back,  with  the  lower  growing  sorts  in  front.  These, 
when  there  was  a  good  collection,  gave  a  bloom  of  varied 
color  throughout  the  entire  growing  season.  But  the 
more  modern  style  of  flower  borders  has  quite  displaced 
such  collections,  and  they  are  now  but  little  seen,  unless 
in  very  old  gardens,  or  in  botanical  collections.  Then 
again,  we  have  the  mixed  borders  of  bedding  plants,  a 
heterogeneous  grouping  of  all  kinds  of  tropical  plants, 
still  holding  to  the  plan  of  either  placing  the  highest  at 
the  back  of  the  border  if  it  has  only  one  walk,  or  if  a  bed 
has  a  walk  on  each  side,  the  highest  in  the  middle,  and 
the  plants  sloping  down  to  the  walk  on  each  side.  The 
mixed  system  still  has  its  advocates,  who  deprecate  the 
modern  plan  of  massing  in  color  as  being  too  formal,  and 
too  unnatural  a  way  to  dispose  of  flowers.  But  be  that 


PLANTING   OF  LAWKS  AHD  FLOWER-BEDS. 


31 


as  it  may,  we  will  not  stop  to  argue  the  matter  further 
than  to  state,  that  in  a  visit  to  England  in  1872,  it  was 
most  evident  that  the  "  Carpet  Styles"  of  massing  plants 
as  done  at  Battersea  Park,  London,  were  interesting  to 
the  people  in  a  way  that  no  mixed  border  could  ever  be. 
Any  one  who  has  not  yet  seen  the  wonderful  effects  pro- 
duced by  the  massing  of  plants  in  this  way,  has  a  treat 
before  him.  Nearly  all  the  public  parks  in  and  about 
London  are  so  planted,  and  thousands  of  cottage  gardens 
vie  with  each  other  in  imitation  of  the  parks.  But  to 
plant  in  patterns  or  in  ribbon  lines  requires  for  immediate 
effect  a  large  number  of  plants,  for  the  reason  that  they 
must  be  so  set  out  that  they  will  meet  to  form  continu- 
ous masses  shortly  after  planting. 

An  illustration  in  circles  (for  convenience),  is  given  in 
fig.  8,  to  show  what  plants  can  be  massed  together  to  give  a 
pleasing  effect.  Of  course 
it  will  be  understood  that 
a  bed  of  any  shape  can  be 
planted  in  this  manner  as 
well  as  circular  beds,  only 
keeping  in  view  the  width 


of  the  bed.    For  example, 

a  bed  having  a  diameter 

of  ten  feet  may  require 

eight     or    ten     different 

kinds  of  plants  to  form  the 

necessary  contrast,  while 

that  of  five  feet  will  not  re-    Fig'  8-^GB^  <»  ™>WEK-BED. 

quire  more  than  half  that  number.     The  following  named 

plants  are  well  suited  for  planting  in  masses  or  ribbon 

lines  ;  they  are  named  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  ordei 

of  their  hight,  number  one  in  each  case  being  the  tallest. 

Many  of   them  will  require  to  be    "pinched  back"  to 

keep  at  the  proper  hight,  so  that  the  outline  will  form  a 

regular  slope  from  the  center  or  highest  point,  down  to 


GARDEtfl^G   FOR   PLEASURE. 


the  front  or  lowest  point — thus  in  list  No.l,  Canna  Indica 
zebrina  will  grow  six  feet  high,  while  Lobelia  Paxtoni, 


Fig.  9. — SECTION  OP  FLOWER-BED. 

the  lowest,  is  less  than  six  inches.  The  section  given  in 
figure  9  will  give  an  idea  of  the  arrangement  of  a  bed  of 
this  kind. 


LIST  No.  1. 

1.  Canna  Indica  zebrina,  leaves  green  and  brown  striped 6 

2.  Salvia  splendens,  flowers  scarlet 5 

3.  Golden  Coleus,  leaves  orange  and  brown 4 

4.  Achyranthes  Lindeni,  leaves  rich  crimson 3 

5.  Phalaris  arnndinacea  var.,  leaves  white  and  green 2ya 

6.  Achyranthes  Gilsoni,  leaves  carmine 2 

7.  Bronze  Geranium,  leaves  golden  bronze iya 

8.  Centaurea  Candida,  leaves  white 1 

9.  Alternanthera  latif olia,  leaves  crimson  and  yellow 3/4 

10.  Lobelia  Paxtoni,  flowers  blue V» 

LIST    NO.     2. 

1.  Caladium  esculentum,  leaves  large  green 5 

2.  Japanese  Maize,  leaves  striped  white  and  yellow 5 

3.  Coleus  Verschaffeltii,  leaves  chocolate  crimson 4 

4.  Delphinium  bicolor,  flowers  blue  and  white 3 

5.  Cyperus  alternifolius  var.,  leaves  white  and  green Z1/^ 

6.  Achyranthes  Verschaffeltii,  leaves  crimson 2 

7.  Mountain  of  Snow  Geranium,  leaves  white  and  green iya 

8.  Tropseolum,  Ball  of  Fire,  flowers  flame  color 1 

9.  Echeveria  metallica,  leaves  gray,  'metallic  lustre 3/4 

10.  Alternanthera  amoana,  yellow  and  carmine Va 


PLANTING   OF  LAWNS  AND  FLOWER-BEDS.  33 

It  will  be  understood  that  these  lists  of  plants  can  be 
transposed  in  any  way  necessary  to  suit  beds  of  all 
widths,  keeping  in  view  that  where  small  beds  are  placed 
near  walks  the  lower  growing  kinds  are  most  suitable, 
while  for  beds  at  greater  distances  from  walks,  or 
other  points  of  view,  the  taller  growing  kinds  must 
be  used.  Very  fine  effects  are  produced  by  plant- 
ing on  a  lawn  a  single  specimen  of  stately  habit,  such 
as  some  varieties  of  the  Eicinus,  or  Castor-oil  Bean, 
which  grow  ten  and  twelve  feet  in  hight  in  one  season, 
and  are  particularly  striking  plants.  Or  instead  of  this, 
a  mass  of  six,  eight,  or  twelve  plants  of  scarlet  sage  will 
form  a  group  six  feet  high  by  as  many  in  diameter,  and  its 
dazzling  scarlet  color,  contrasting  against  the  green  of 
the  lawn,  is  superb.  Many  of  the  Amaranths  are  also 
well  suited  for  planting  in  single  groups.  Amarantus 
tricolor  gigantea,  (Joseph's  coat),  grows  to  the  hight  of 
six  feet,  an,d  its  leaves  in  the  late  summer  and  fall 
months  exceed  in  brilliancy  of  color  anything  we  know 
of  in  foliage  ;  scarlet,  crimson,  and  golden  yellow  pre- 
dominating. Another,  the  Amarantus  Ueolor  ruler, 
grows  to  the  hight  of  five  feet,  and  is  plumed  with  scar- 
let crimson.  In  contrast  to  these,  plants  of  a  more 
somber  tint  may  be  used,  in  individual  specimens  or  in 
a  group  of  such  as  Pampas  Grass,  (Gynerium  argenteum), 
or  the  Eavenna  Grass,  (Erianthus  Ravenna),  each  of  these 
attain  a  hight  from  six  to  ten  feet,  and  have  a  graceful  ap- 
pearance. The  Tanyah,  Oaladium  esculentum,  a  tropical 
looking  plant  growing  three  or  four  feet  in  hight,  and 
producing  leaves  sometimes  eighteen  inches  across. 

THE  CARPET  STYLE  OF  FLOWER-BEDS. 

Planting,  as  practised  at  Battersea  and  other  parks  in 
London,  is  as  yet  but  little  seen  with  us  ;  our  public 
parks  here  have  shown  a  lamentable  want  of  taste  in  this 


34 


GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 


matter,  especially  those  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn  ; 
Philadelphia  and  Boston  have  done  better,  but  all  of 
these  are  weak  attempts  when  compared  with  the  grounds 
of  some  of  our  private  gentlemen,  notable  among  whom 
are  H.  W.  Sargent,  of  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  and  H.  H. 
Hunnewell,  of  Boston.  The  grounds  of  Mr.  H.  are 
thrown  open  to  the  public,  who  have  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  effects  in  this  style  of  planting,  nearly  equal 
to  anything  in  Europe,  entirely  at  the  expense  of  the 
munificent  owner.  The  carpet  style,  so  called,  con- 
sists in  using  plants  that  can  be  kept  down  to  a  few 


Fig.  10. — DESIGN  FOB  SCROLL-PATTEBN. 

inches  above  the  level  of  the  lawn.  A  great  variety  of 
succulent  plants  are  used,  such  as  Echeverias,  Sedums, 
Mesembryanthemums,  etc. ,  together  with  numerous  low- 
growing  Alpine  plants,  such  as  Ajugas,  Cerastiums,  Lys- 
imachias,  Lobelias,  Ivies,  Alternantheras,  etc.,  etc. 
This  style  of  bedding  requires  an  immense  number  of 
plants.  One  bed  in  the  carpet  style  at  Battersea  Park, 
containing  less  than  1,000  square  feet,  required  4,000 
plants  to  produce  the  desired  effect  in  the  design,  and 
not  a  leaf  of  these  was  more  than  six  inches  above 
the  lawn.  Planting  in  this  style  admits  of  unlimited  va- 


THE   CARPET  STYLE   OF   FLOWER-BEDS.  35 

riety  in  the  form  of  the  beds,  and  contrasts  of  colors  ;  so 
great  is  the  care  exercised  abroad  in  arranging  the  de- 
signs that  colored  papers,  giving  the  exact  tints  of  the 
leading  flowers  and  colored  foliage,  are  supplied  by  the 
dealers,  in  order  that  colored  designs  may  be  made  and 


Fig.  11.  —ORNAMENTAL  DESIGN,   AFTER  THOMPSON. 

studied  before  putting  them  into  execution ;  a  single 
misplaced  color  may  spoil  the  effect  of  the  whole.  In 
works  of  this  kind  the  parts  of  the  design  should  be  sep- 
arated by  well  defined  portions  of  turf,  as  the  color  of 
each  member  of  it  is  brought  out  more  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly, and  the  whole  has  a  much  better  effect  if  a  lib- 
eral amount  of  green  is  introduced.  The  two  plans,  figs. 
10  and  11,  are  introduced  to  give  an  idea  of  some  of  the 


36  GAEDENING  FOE   PLEASUEE. 

simpler  designs ;  the  scroll-work,  fig.  10,  in  various  forms 
is  much  used,  either  near  a  drive,  or  as  a  margin  or 
frame  to  more  elaborate  work. 


CHAPTER    XL 

FALL,  OR  HOLLAND  BULBS. 

These  bulbs  are  mainly  such  as  are  imported  from  Hol- 
land in  the  fall,  and  consist  of  Hyacinths,  Tulips,  Cro- 
cuses, Jonquils,  Narcissuses,  Snow-drops,  and  various 
other  less  known  kinds.  With  few  exceptions,  all  these 
bulbs  are  hardy  in  our  most  northern  states,  though  all 
are  benefitted  by  a  covering  of  two  or  three  inches  of 
rough  litter  or  leaves  spread  over  the  beds  before  freezing 
weather.  The  soil  best  suited  for  all  bulbs  is  a  rich,  but 
rather  sandy  loam.  All  these  bulbs  may  be  planted  any 
time  from  the  middle  of  September,  until  the  ground  is 
closed  by  frost  in  December.  Hyacinths  should  be 
planted  at  distances  of  eight  or  ten  inches  apart  each 
way,  and  from  three  to  four  inches  deep.  Tulips,  the 
same  distance  apart,  but  a  little  less  deep.  Crocuses  four 
inches  apart  and  two  inches  deep.  Jonquils  and  Narcis- 
suses may  be  planted  six  inches  apart  and  four  inches 
deep.  Snow-drops  the  same  as  Crocuses. 

Very  fine  effects  are  produced  by  planting  Hyacinths  in 
lines  each  of  one  color,  or  when  mixed  colors  are  placed 
in  the  lines,  care  must  be  taken  to  have  them  arranged 
so  that  the  bed  will  give  harmonious  blending  of  color. 
Crosuses  have  nearly  the  same  range  of  color  as  the 
Hyacinth,  and  may  be  planted  either  way. 

All  these  bulbs  are  easily  grown  in  pots.  The  Hya- 
cinth requires  a  pot  six  inches  in  depth  and  diameter  ;  in 


FALL,  OR  HOLLAND  BULBS.  37 

potting  it  is  only  necessary  to  fill  the  pot  rather  .loosely 
to  the  brim,  and  press  the  bulb  down,  so  that  only  about 
one-fourth  of  it  appears  above  the  soil.  The  pot  should 
then  be  struck  smartly  on  the  bench  to  give  the  soil 
the  proper  degree  of  firmness,  leaving  it,  when  fin- 
ished, about  an  inch  or  so  below  the  rim  of  the  pot. 
Then  water  freely  to  still  further  settle  the  soil.  The 
pots  should  then  be  placed  where  it  is  cool  and  dark, 
which  will  encourage  a  strong  development  of  roots, 
before  the  bud  starts  to  grow  at  the  top.  Such  a  situa- 
tion can  be  made  by  covering  up  the  pots  with  four  or 
five  inches  of  sand  in  a  cool  cellar,  under  the  stage  of  a 
cool  greenhouse,  or  in  a  sunken  pit,  in  each  case  covering 
with  sand  or  leaves,  so  as  to  exclude  heat  and  frost,  for  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  a  strong  development  of  root 
can  only  be  had  at  a  low  temperature,  say  from  forty  to 
fifty  degrees,  and  any  attempt  to  force  them  to  make 
roots  quicker  by  placing  them  in  a  high  temperature, 
will  most  certainly  enfeeble  the  flower.  If  we  will  only 
observe  how  nature  points  out  to  us  this  necessity,  we 
will  see  how  safe  it  will  be  to  follow  her.  In  all  hardy 
plants,  the  roots  in  spring,  (when  the  temperature  is 
low),  form  the  rootlets  before  a  leaf  or  flower  is  devel- 
oped. To  show  the  bad  effects  when  this  is  not  the  case, 
take  a  root  of  any  of  our  hardy  lilies  and  plant  it  in 
March,  and  take  a  similar  bulb  and  plant  it  in  May ;  it 
will  be  found  that  the  early  planted  bulb  that  had  an 
opportunity  to  slowly  develop  its  roots  before  there  was 
heat  enough  to  start  the  top,  will  give  a  finer  growth  and 
finer  flower  than  the  bulb  that  was  planted  in  May,  and 
run  up  into  growth  before  it  had  an  opportunity  to 
sufficiently  push  its  roots  into  the  soil.  The  culture  of 
all  the  bulbs  before  named,  in  pots,  is  the  same  as  that  of 
the  Hyacinth,  only  the  Narcissuses  and  Tulips  should  be 
planted  three  or  four  in  a  six  or  seven-inch  pot,  and  Cro- 
cuses ten  or  twelve  in  a  pot.  All  these  bulbs  may  like- 


38  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

wise  be  grown  in  moss,  or  even  pure  sand,  provided  that 
it  is  kept  damp  ;  the  necessity  being  a  medium  wherein 
the  roots  can  revel  in  moisture.  But  whether  potted  in 
soil,  sand,  or  moss,  there  will  be  no  need  to  water,  but 
at  the  time  of  potting,  provided  the  pots  have  been  cov- 
ered up  as  directed,  and  kept  cool  and  dark.  If  potted 
say  the  first  week  in  October,  they  may  be  removed  from 
their  dark  quarters  in  seven  or  eight  weeks,  only  before 
doing  so,  turn  a  few  of  them  out  of  the  pots  to  see 
whether  they  have  rooted  around  the  ball  of  earth. 
They  may  then  be  placed  in  full  light  and  watered  freely. 

HYACINTHS   IN   GLASSES. 

Although  the  Jonquils  and  Narcissuses  can  be  grown  in 
water  in  glasses  as  well  as  the  Hyacinth,  they  are  not 
often  so  treated,  hyacinths  being  the  only  bulbs  largely 
flowered  in  that  way,  some  of  which  are  shown  in  fig.  12. 


Bohemian. 
Fig.  12. — HYACINTH  GLASSES. 

The  glasses  are  made  of  various  styles,  from  the  plain 
old-fashioned  Belgian  to  the  ornamental  Bohemian 
glasses,  and  of  clear  glass  or  colored,  green,  amber,  claret, 
and  other  shades.  The  glasses,  which  are  best  of  a 
dark  color,  are  filled  with  water  just  high  enough  for  the 
base  of  the  bulb  to  touch  it.  The  glasses  must  be 
placed  in  a  cool  and  dark  place,  just  such  a  situation 


PROPAGATION"  OF  PLANTS  BY  SEEDS.        39 

as  recommended  for  those  grown  in  pots.  Care  must  be 
taken  that  they  do  not  freeze,  else  the  glasses  will  be 
broken,  and  the  Hyacinths  more  or  less  injured.  Single 
Hyacinths  are  better  than  double  ones  for  glasses.  The 
water  should  be  changed  every  six  or  eight  days. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

PROPAGATION  OF  PLANTS  BT  SEEDS. 

Nature  provides  abundantly  for  the  reproduction  of 
plants,  and  the  difficulty  of  multiplying  by  one  method 
is  compensated  by  the  ease  with  which  it  may  be  done 
in  another.  Whenever  we  find  a  plant  takes  root  with 
difficulty  from  "  slips"  or  cuttings,  in  nine  cases  out  of 
ten  we  find  that  it  seeds  freely,  and  gives  us  a  ready 
means  of  increase.  Thus  we  find  the  much  admired 
Centaureas,  one  kind  of  the  "  Dusty  Millers,"  the  white 
leaved  plants  now  so  much  used  in  massing  and  for 
baskets,  are  exceedingly  difficult  and  slow  to  root  from 
cuttings,  but  are  readily  raised  from  seeds.  Our  fine 
strains  of  blotched  Petunias  are  also  troublesome  as  cut- 
tings, but  make  plants  quickly  from  seeds.  The  Cycla- 
men with  its  turnip-like  stem  or  bulb,  could  only  be 
propagated  by  cutting  in  pieces,  disfiguring  its  shape,  and 
requiring  years  to  form  a  circular  bulb  again,  but  here  we 
have  seed  coming  to  our  help  which  germinates  freely, 
and  makes  a  flowering  plant  in  one  year.  The  Apple 
Geranium  never  affords  proper  cuttings  from  which  to 
make  a  plant,  but  it  seeds  freely,  from  which  splendid 
plants  can  be  produced  in  a  few  months.  So  the  Pri- 
mulas and  Cinerarias,  both  slow  and  uncertain  from  cut- 
tings, seed  freely.  Echeveria  metallica,  one  of  the  beau- 


40  GAKDENING   FOK   PLEASUHE. 

tiful  plants  of  the  House-Leek  family,  produces  no  bud 
from  the  base  of  the  leaf,  as  nearly  all  the  other  species 
do,  but  to  make  up,  it  seeds  abundantly,  and  so  with 
hundreds  of  other  plants  to  which  our  space  will  not  per- 
mit us  to  refer.  There  is  no  rule  by  which  we  can  des- 
ignate what  plants  are  best  propagated  by  seeds,  and 
what  by  cuttings,  experience  being  the  only  teacher,  and 
even  the  experience  of  a  lifetime  is  too  short  for  those 
of  us  that  have  had  the  largest  practice. 

Seedling  plants  can  be  nearly  as  well  raised  in  the  win- 
dow of  a  sitting-room  or  parlor,  provided  the  tempera- 
ture is  right,  as  in  a  greenhouse,  for  seeds  do  not  need  a 
strong  direct  light  while  germinating,  in  fact  that  is 
often  a  difficulty  in  a  greenhouse,  as  the  surface  of  the 
seed-bed  dries  up  too  quickly  in  the  direct  sunshine,  ne- 
cessitating watering,  which  bakes  the  surface.  The  best 
thing  wherein  to  sow  seeds  is  shallow  boxes ;  these  need 
not  be  more  than  two  or  three  inches  deep,  with  open 
seams  at  the  bottom  through  which  water  will  drain 
quickly.  Fill  the  boxes  within  half  an  inch  of  the  top 
with  light  rich  earth  ;  if  it  can  be  procured,  nothing  is 
better  than  black  leaf-mold  from  the  woods,  or  light 
sandy  soil  mixed  with  an  equal  bulk  of  stable  manure,  so 
rotted  as  to  resemble  leaf -mold,  it  will  not  answer  un- 
less rotted  as  fine  as  dust.  In  the  absence  of  either  of 
these,  sweepings  from  a  paved  street  are  excellent,  mixed 
with  light  sandy  soil,  the  object  in  all  cases  being  light- 
ness of  the  soil  or  mold  in  which  the  seed  is  to  be  sown  ; 
for  if  tiny  seeds,  as  many  of  our  flower-seeds  are,  are 
embedded  in  a  stiff  soil,  the  germ  in  many  of  them  is  too 
weak  to  push  its  way  to  the  light.  When  the  proper  soil 
has  been  secured,  pat  it  down  with  a  smooth  board  until 
it  is  as  smooth  and  level  as  it  well  can  be,  then  sow  the 
seed  carefully  over  the  surface,  distributing  it  evenly, 
then  take  a  common  kitchen  sieve  and  sift  just  so  much 
earth  evenly  over  the  seed  as  will  cover  it  and  no  more : 


PROPAGATION   OF   PLAINTS  BY  SEEDS.  41 

then  take  a  watering-pot  with  the  finest  kind  of  a  rose, 
and  shower  the  earth  with  the  spray.  Keep  the  box  at  a 
temperature  as  near  sixty  degrees  as  possible,  taking  care 
to  give  it  a  shower  of  spray  only  when  the  surface 
appears  to  be  dry  ;  but  few  seeds  will  fail  to  germinate 
under  such  conditions.  But  after  the  seeds  have 
"brairded,"  as  the  Scotch  gardeners  say,  comes  another 
difficulty;  in  quite  a  number  of  plants,  particularly 
if  sown  in  the  house,  just  as  soon  as  the  seed  leaf  has  de- 
veloped, and  before  the  first  rough  or  true  leaves  have 
formed,  the  seedling  is  attacked  by  a  minute  fungus, 
that  will  often  sweep  off  the  whole  crop  in  48  hours,  if  not 
attended  to.  The  required  attention  is,  that  as  soon  as 
there  are  indications  of  the  "  damping  off"  of  these  tiny 
seedlings,  they  must  be  carefully  taken  up  and  planted 
out  in  similar  boxes,  prepared  exactly  as  the  seed-boxes 
have  been  ;  they  may  be  planted  quite  closely,  not  more 
than  half  an  inch  apart,  and  let  their  further  treatment 
be  exactly  the  same  as  in  germinating  the  seeds.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks  they  will  have  grown  freely,  and 
they  may  then  be  lifted  and  placed  in  similar  boxes,  but 
wider  apart,  say  three  or  four  inches,  or  potted  singly  in 
two  and  a  half  or  three-inch  pots  as  most  convenient, 
until  such  a  time  as  they  are  to  be  planted  out  in  the 
open  ground,  or  to  be  used  otherwise.  In  this  way  as 
great  a  number  of  plants  may  be  raised  from  a  25c.  or  50c. 
packet  of  seed  as  would  cost  $25  or  $50  to  purchase,  be- 
sides the  far  greater  satisfaction  of  their  being  the  pro- 
ducts of  your  own  hands. 


42  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

PROPAGATION   OF   PLANTS   BY    CUTTINGS. 

There  is  no  more  interesting  operation  to  the  amateur 
gardener  than  that  of  increasing  his  stock  of  plants  by 
cuttings  or  slips.  Heretofore,  it  was  accounted  a  great 
mystery,  and  unless  with  some  of  the  commonest  kinds 
of  Geraniums,  few  amateurs  ever  presumed  to  invade  the 
territory  of  the  professional  gardeners.  Nearly  all  writers 
on  the  subject  had  so  befogged  this  simple  matter  with 
technical  nonsense,  that  few,  not  regularly  brought  up  to 
the  business,  presumed  to  attempt  it.  We  now  consider 
it  one  of  our  simplest  operations,  far  simpler  than  raising 
many  kinds  of  plants  from  seed,  and  though  we  raise 
now  over  two  millions  of  plants  annually,  and  keep  a 
man  with  three  assistants  doing  nothing  else  the  entire 
year  but  propagating  plants  from  slips,  yet  we  could  take 
any  careful,  intelligent  man  from  among  our  garden 
laborers,  and  install  him  as  a  competent  propagator  in  a 
month.  Where  plants  are  propagated  from  cuttings  in 
large  numbers,  we  elevate  a  bench,  usually  four  feet 
wide,  above  the  flue  or  hot- water  pipes,  to  within  a  foot 
or  so  of  the  glass  at  the  front,  and  on  this  table  or  bench 
we  place  three  or  four  inches  of  sand,  of  any  color  or  tex- 
ture, provided  it  is  not  from  the  sea-shore,  and  contains 
salt.  This  bench  is  boarded  down  in  front,  so  as  to  confine 
the  heat  from  the  flue  or  pipes  under  it,  and  give  what 
is  called  "  bottom  heat "  ;  the  sand  on  a  bench  so  formed 
will  indicate  a  temperature  of  perhaps  seventy  degrees, 
while  the  atmosphere  of  the  greenhouse,  particularly  dur- 
ing the  night,  will  be  ten  degrees  less.  Now,  if  the  cut- 
tings are  in  the  right  condition,  and  are  inserted  an  inch 
or  so  in  this  sand,  freely  watered,  and  shaded  from  the 
sun  from  9  or  10  A.M.  to  3  or  4  P.M.,  cuttings  of  nearly 


PROPAGATION   OF   PLANTS  BY   CUTTINGS. 


43 


all  kinds  of  plants  are  certain  to  take  root  in  from  ten  to 
twenty  days.  But  the  cuttings  must  be  in  the  right 
condition,  and  this  is  best  shown  by  the  engraving,  (fig. 
13).  It  will  be  observed  that  the  upper  portion  of  the 
shoot  is  snapped  or  broken,  while  the  other  is  only  kneed 
or  bent ;  this  snapping  point,  as  we  now  term  it,  is  a 
true  indication  of  proper  condition  of  the  cutting  ;  where 
it  bends  and  does  not  break,  it  is  too  hard,  and  though  a 


Fig.  13.— PEOPER  AND  IMPROPER  STATE  OF  CUTTING. 

cutting  will  root,  when  in  that  condition,  it  will  be 
slower  in  doing  so,  and  the  roots  thrown  out  from  it  will 
be  weaker  and  more  wiry  than  when  emitted  from  a 
cutting  taken  in  the  condition  in  which  it  breaks.  Be- 
sides the  plant  grown  from  the  older  cutting  will  not 


44  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

likely  be  so  healthy  or  vigorous  as  one  made  when  the 
shoot  is  in  the  proper  state. 

In  propagating  woody  plants,  such  as  Boses,  Azaleas, 
or  Camellias,  this  test  of  breaking  or  snapping  of  the 
cutting  does  not  in  these  indicate  the  proper  condition, 
although  they  also  will  root  if  taken  in  the  soft  state, 
yet  we  find  it  is  not  quite  so  well  to  do  so  as  to  wait  until 
the  cuttings  of  these  woody  plants  gets  harder  ;  what 
this  proper  hardness  is,  it  is  not  very  easy  always  to  de- 
termine. In  roses  the  best  condition  for  taking  the 
cutting  is  reached  when  the  young  shoot,  (of  which  the 
cutting  is  made),  develops  the  flower  bud  to  about  the 
size  of  a  large  pea.  Although  the  shoot  on  which  the 
flower  bud  shows,  will  make  a  proper  enough  cutting, 
yet  if  it  is  not  desired  to  waste  the  flower,  cuttings  had 
better  be  made  of  the  (( blind"  shoots,  i.  e.,  such  young 
shoots  as  do  not  flower.  In  making  the  cuttings  of 
roses,  or  in  fact  of  almost  all  plants,  (with  a  few  excep- 
tions hardly  worth  noting),  there  is  no  need  to  cut  at  a 
joint,  although  nine  gardeners  out  of  ten  still  do  so,  par- 
ticularly those  who  have  learned  the  business  in  Europe, 
where,  in  this  as  in  many  other  things  in  horticulture, 
they  still  follow  the  dictum  of  some  savant  of  a  century 
ago,  never  questioning  why.  But  our  business  necessities 
here,  have  caused  us  to  ride  rough -shod  over  many  of 
their  set  rules,  and  in  none  more  ruthlessly  than  in  this 
matter  of  propagating.  But  as  this  book  is  written 
mainly  for  amateurs  in  gardening,  I  will  proceed  to  give 
a  simple  method  by  which  any  one  can  propagate  plants 
from  cuttings  or  slips,  even  when  no  greenhouse  or  hot- 
bed is  at  hand.  It  is  called 

THE    "MUD"    OR    "SAUCER    SYSTEM"    OF   PROPAGATING. 

Take  any  common  saucer  or  plate,  into  which  put 
sand  to  the  depth  of  an  inch  or  so,  then  prepare  the  cut- 
tings in  the  usual  manner,  and  insert  them  in  the  sand 


"MUD"  on  "SAUCER  SYSTEM."  45 

close  enough  to  touch  each  other  as  in  fig.  14.  The  sand 
is  then  to  be  watered  to  bring  it  to  the  condition  of  mud. 
The  saucer  with  the  cuttings  is  then  placed  on  the  shelf 
of  the  greenhouse,  in  the  hot-bed,  or  in  a  sunny  window 
of  any  room  in  the  dwelling  house  ;  in  each  case  fully 
exposed  to  the  sun  and  never  shaded.  But  one  condi- 
tion is  essential  to  success — until  the  cuttings  become 
rooted,  the  sand  must  be  kept  continually  saturated  with 
water  and  always  in  the  condition  of  mud.  To  do  this  the 
saucers  must  be  watered  at  least  once  a  day  with  a  very 
fine  rose  watering  pot,  and  the  watering  must  be  done 
very  gently,  else  the  cuttings  may  be  washed  out.  There 
is  every  probability  that  ninety  per  cent  of  all  cuttings 
put  in  will  take  root,  pro- 
vided they  were  in  the 
proper  condition,  and  the 
temperature  has  not  been 
lower  than  65  degrees  nor 
above  100  degrees.  By 
the  saucer  system  a  higher 
temperature  may  be  main- 
tained without  injury,  as  the  cuttings  are  in  reality  placed 
in  water,  and  will  not  wilt  provided  the  water  is  not  allowed 
to  dry  up.  Still  the  detached  slip,  until  rooted,  will  not 
endure  a  long  continuation  of  100  degrees,  and  we  advise 
that  propagation  be  done  at  such  seasons  that  the  cuttings, 
wherever  they  may  be,  will  have  as  near  as  possible  an 
average  temperature  of  75°  or  80°  in  the  sunlight.  The 
cuttings  will  root  (according  to  kinds  and  the  tempera- 
ture), in  from  six  to  twenty  days.  Verbenas,  Heliotropes, 
Fuchsias,  etc. ,  root  in  a  week,  while  Eoses,  Carnations,  or 
Azaleas,  take  two,  three,  or  four  weeks.  When  rooted  they 
should  be  potted  in  light  soil,  (such  as  recommended  in 
the  article  "  Propagating  of  Plants  by  Seeds,")  in  pots 
from  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  treated  care- 
fully by  shading  and  watering  for  two  or  three  days.  To 


GARDENING   FOE   PLEASUEE. 


such  as  desire  more  extended  information  on  the  subject 
of  propagating  plants  by  cuttings,  I  would  refer  to  my 
work,  "Practical  Floriculture." 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


PROPAGATING    BY    LAYERING. 

Although  florists  now  rarely  resort  to  propagation  by 
layering,  yet  now  and  then  it  may  be  desirable  for  ama- 
teurs to  increase  the  number  of  some  favorite  plant  dur- 
ing the  summer  season,  where  no  other  method  of  propa- 
gation can  be  practised.  The  only  difference  between  a 
layer  and  a  cutting  is,  that  the  cutting  is  entirely  de- 
tached from  the  parent  plant,  while  the  layer  remains 
partially  connected  with  it.  Although  layering  may 
be  done  with  the  ripened  wood  of  vines  or  shrubs  of  the 

growth  of  the  previous 
season,  yet  it  is  prefer- 
able to  use  the  shoot  of 
the  present  year  in  its 
half  green  state ;  for  ex- 
ample, a  rose  or  flower- 
ing shrub  is  pruned  in 
the  usual  way  in  spring; 
by  midsummer  it  will 
have  made  strong  shoots 
one,  two,  or  three  feet  in 
length  from  or  near  the 
base  of  the  plant.  Take 
the  shoot  then  in  the 
left  hand,  (after  having  stripped  it  of  its  leaves  for  a  few 
inches  on  each  side  of  where  it  is  to  be  cut),  keep  the 
fingers  under  the  shoot,  and  make  a  cut  on  the  upper  part , 


Fig.  15.— PROPAGATING  BY  LAYERING. 


ABOUT  GRAFTING  AND   BUDDING.  47 

an  inch  or  so  in  length,  and  to  about  half  the  thickness 
of  the  shoot,  then  slightly  twist  the  "tongue"  or  cut 
part  to  one  side,  as  shown  in  the  engraving,  fig.  15;  hay- 
ing opened  a  shallow  trench,  fasten  the  branch  down 
with  a  hooked  peg,  and  cover  with  earth  ;  it  is  a  good 
plan  to  place  a  flat  stone  over  the  layer  to  prevent  the 
soil  from  drying  out.  This  plan  of  cutting  the  shoot  in 
layering  is  rarely  shown  in  illustrations  on  the  subject, 
the  cuts  usually  being  represented  at  the  under  side  of 
the  shoot.  When  cut  at  the  lower  side,  the  shoot  can 
not  be  laid  down  without  danger  of  breaking  it. 


CHAPTEE    XV. 

ABOUT    GRAFTING    AND    BUDDING. 

It  is  often  desirable  to  be  able  to  bud  or  graft  one 
variety  of  plant  on  another  entirely  different  variety  ; 
and  it  is  an  interesting  fact  to  know  that  the  bud  taken 
from  one  plant  and  inserted  so  that  it  grows  in  another, 
and  is  entirely  sustained  by  the  plant  into  which  it  has 
been  budded,  in  no  way  changes  its  character.  This 
fact  is  so  well  known  to  gardeners  that  they  rarely  think 
it  necessary  to  mention  it  in  writing  on  the  subject,  and 
many  amateurs  interested  in  horticultural  matters  have 
very  confused  notions  on  budding.  To  illustrate:  if  a 
leaf  bud  is  taken  from  a  white  Rose,  and  inserted  in  the 
stem  of  a  red  Rose,  all  the  branches  that  proceed  from 
this  bud,  leaves  or  flowers,  will  be  identical  with  the 
white  Rose  from  which  it  was  taken.  Or  if  a  leaf  bud 
of  the  red  Rose  be  inserted  in  the  white,  the  same  result 
would  follow ;  it  will  be  identical  in  all  respects  with  the 
red  variety.  Or  you  may  take  a  bud  or  graft  from  the 


48  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

sourest  crab  apple,  and  insert  it  into  a  branch  of  the 
sweetest  apple  tree  you  can  find,  and  the  shoot  which 
grows  from  the  crab  apple  bud  will  ever  remain  a  crab, 
and  will  in  no  way  be  affected  by  the  sweet  apple  stock 
on  which  it  is  growing.  Or  if  the  operation  is  reversed, 
and  the  sweet  apple  is  budded  or  grafted  on  the  sour, 
the  result  will  be  the  same  ;  its  individuality  will  be  in 
no  way  changed,  it  will  be  identical  with  the  variety 
from  which  it  was  taken. 

Still  further  to  illustrate  this  matter  of  budding  or 
grafting,  you  may  take  a  rose-bush  having  any  number 
of  shoots,  it  makes  no  difference  whether  one  or  a  hun- 
dred ;  on  each  shoot  you  may  bud  a  distinct  variety  of 
Rose,  of  all  the  colors,  forms  or  odors  embraced  in  the 
Roses,  and  each  one  will  hold  its  distinct  characteristic 
of  color,  form,  or  fragrance,  be  it  crimson,  white,  pink, 
or  yellow  in  color,  double  or  single  in  form,  or  of  tea  or 
other  odor.  Or  you  may  take  a  young  seedling  apple 
tree,  insert  a  bud  of  another  into  it,  then  after  that  bud 
has  made  a  growth,  bud  still  another  variety  into  that, 
and  so  on  as  many  as  is  desired,  rub  of  all  shoots  in  the 
stem  that  start  below,  and  the  variety  last  budded  will 
hold  its  individuality  unchanged,  no  matter  though  the 
life-sustaining  sap  flows  through  the  cells  of  several  dif- 
ferent kinds.  You  may  mark  the  space  occupied  by  each 
of  the  varieties,  and  cut  back  to  any  particular  variety, 
and  the  fruit  that  will  be  produced  by  that  part,  which  will 
then  be  the  top,  will  hold  its  character  without  change. 
What  is  true  of  roses  and  apples,  is  of  course  equally 
true  of  whatever  plant  that  can  be  grafted  or  budded. 

The  stock  does  not  in  any  manner  affect  the  individu- 
ality of  the  graft,  and  I  supposed  that  this  was  one  of 
the  generally  accepted  axioms  of  horticulture,  but  in  a 
conversation  not  long  ago  with  a  gentleman  whose  opin- 
ion is  entitled  to  consideration,  I  found  him  inclined  to 
believe  that  there  were  some  few  exceptions  to  what  was 


ABOUT  GKAFTING   AND   BUDDING.  49 

admitted  to  be  a  general  law,  and  in  support  of  his  argu- 
ment, he  referred  me  for  exceptions  to  Darwin's  "  Plants 
and  Animals  under  Domestication."  I  have  examined 
this  work,  and  find  only  two  cases  wherein  it  is  claimed 
that  the  graft  is  influenced  by  the  stock,  or  the  stock  by 
the  graft.  The  llrst  is  at  page  45  7,  Vol.  1,  where  "Prof. 
Caspary  describes  the  case  of  a  six-year-old  white  Moss 
Eose,  which  sent  up  several  suckers,  one  of  which  was 
thorny  and  destitute  of  moss,  exactly  like  those  of  the 
Provence  Kose,  (R.  centifolia),  another  shoot  bore  both 
kinds  of  flowers,  and  in  addition  longitudinally  striped 
flowers.  As  this  white  moss  had  been  grafted  on  the 
Provence  Eose,  Prof.  Caspary  attributes  the  above  changes 
to  the  influence  of  the  stock,  but  from  the  facts  already 
given,  and  from  others  to  be  given,  bud  variation  with 
reversion  is  probably  sufficient  explanation " ;  and  Dar- 
win proceeds  to  give  nearly  a  dozen  cases  of  like  variation 
where  there  was  no  grafting  at  all.  A  very  marked  case 
of  this  "bud  variation"  is  at  the  present  time  existing 
in  my  own  greenhouses.  In  a  bed  of  about  one  hun- 
dred plants  of  the  new  tea-rose,  "  La  Nankin,"  all  made 
from  the  cuttings  from  one  parent  plant,  we  have  had 
four  distinct  varieties.  The  original  flower  or  bud  has 
its  base  or  lower  half  of  a  nankeen  yellow  color,  while  its 
upper  half  is  pure  white,  the  separate  colors  being  clearly 
defined,  yet  among  our  plants  from  cuttings  we  have 
some  flowers  that  are  entirely  of  the  nankeen  color,  with- 
out white  ;  then  again  pure  white  with  no  nankeen,  and 
on  one  shoot  the  flowers  came  of  a  light  pink  or  blush 
shade.  Now  had  Prof.  Caspary  a  grafted  plant  of  "  La 
Nankin  "  playing  these  freaks,  he  no  doubt  would  have 
concluded  that  it  was  the  influence  of  the  graft  on  the 
stock.  There  are  other  instances  in  grafting  where  an 
amalgamation  of  individualities  apparently  occurs ;  these 
cases  are  familiar  to  all  horticulturists  of  much  experi- 
ence, and  are  also  alluded  to  by  Darwin  in  the  work  above 
3 


50  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

referred  to.  He  gives  a  number  of  instances  where  the  vari- 
egated Oleander  grafted  on  the  plain  leaved  variety  as  a 
stock,  imparts  the  variegation  to  the  stock,  or  where  a  yel- 
low-leaved ash  tree,  grafted  on  the  common  green-leaved 
variety,  produced  a  blotched  or  variegated  variety.  That 
most  of  the  variegation  in  the  foliage  of  plants,  is  due  to 
disease,  or  at  least  some  disturbance  of  the  regular  func- 
tions of  the  leaf,  there  is  but  little  doubt,  and  it  is  there- 
fore but  an  accidental  condition  of  the  individual.  Where 
a  variegated  plant  is  budded  or  grafted  upon  a  healthy 
subject,  the  disease  is  transmitted  from  the  unhealthy 
bud  or  graft  to  the  healthy  stock  in  a  manner  somewhat 
analogous  to  innoculation  of  smallpox  virus  in  man.  The 
character  or  constitution  of  the  individual  is  in  no  way 
affected  in  the  one  case  more  than  in  the  other.  Marked 
instances  in  which  plain-leaved  plants  become  variegated 
by  being  grafted  with  variegated  cions,  are  afforded  by 
the  variegated  Abutilons  ;  but  in  all  such  cases  it  is  sim- 
ply the  " blotching"  or  "disease"  of  the  foliage  that 
occurs,  there  is  no  change  whatever  in  the  coloring  of  the 
flowers  or  shape  of  the  leaves,  the  individuality  of  these 
remains  unchanged.  That  leaf  variegation  is  indicative 
of  disease,  is  manifest  from  another  fact.  It  is  quite  a 
common  thing  to  find  a  shoot  sent  out  by  the  silver- 
leaved  or  variegated  Geraniums  that  is  pure  white  in  stem 
and  leaves,  not  a  particle  of  green,  or  such  golden  varie- 
gated kinds  of  Geraniums  as  "  Mrs.  Pollock"  will  send 
out  a  pure  yellow  shoot ;  but  all  efforts  to  make  plants  of 
such  shoots  will  fail ;  they  may  feebly  root  as  cuttings, 
or  they  may  be  grafted  on  a  green-leaved,  healthy  stock 
long  enough  to  drag  out  a  few  weeks  of  existence,  but  the 
disease  is  here  thoroughly  established,  and  all  attempts 
to  propagate  these  entirely  abnormal  growths  completely 
fail.  It  has  been  claimed  that  the  Duchesse  d'Angouleme 
and  other  pears  are  much  better  flavored  when  grafted  on 
the  quince  than  on  the  pear  stock,  and  these  are  quoted 


HOW  GRAFTING  AND  BUDDING   AEE  DONE.  51 

as  examples  of  the  influence  of  the  stock  on  the  graft,  but 
to  me  this  seems  capable  of  another  explanation  : 

We  know  that  the  pear  stock  is  a  vigorous  and 
rampant  grower  as  compared  with  the  quince,  and 
may  it  not  be  that  this  vigor  of  growth  in  the  tree  impairs 
the  flavor  of  the  fruit  in  some  varieties,  just  as  we  find 
the  flavor  of  fruits  impaired  when  grown  in  too  rich  soil  ? 
The  effect  of  soil  upon  quality  is  particularly  marked  in 
melons.  I  remember  that  I  once  grew  a  field  of  three 
acres  of  nutmeg  melons,  one-half  of  the  patch  was  rich 
bottom  land,  and  the  other  portion  was  a  rather  poor 
hillside.  The  fruit  produced  on  the  bottom  was  much 
larger,  but  so  different  from  and  inferior  in  flavor  to 
those  on  the  hillside  that  no  one  would  have  recognized 
the  two  as  being  of  the  same  variety.  The  same,  though 
in  a  less  marked  degree,  probably  occurs  in  other  fruits 
under  similar  conditions.  From  these  reasons  I  believe 
it  safe  to  assert  that  no  evidence  has  yet  been  shown 
wherein  the  stock  in  any  manner  affects  the  graft  other 
than  that  it  may  cause  it  to  grow  stronger  or  weaker, 
just  as  the  stock  is  strong  or  weak,  and  the  amount  of 
such  influence  will  be  only  such  as  a  rich  or  poor  soil 
would  produce.  In  other  words,  the  "  stock"  is  only  a 
medium  or  soil  wherein  the  grafted  individual  grows,  and 
affects  it  no  more  than  if  it  drew  its  sustenance  direct 
from  the  earth — strong,  if  on  a  strong  stock,  as  on  a  fer- 
tile soil,  and  weak,  if  on  a  weak  stock,  as  on  a  sterile  soil. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

HOW    GKAFTING   AND    BUDDING   AKE    DONE. 

After  this  discussion  of  general  principles,  let  us 
come  to  the  practice  of  grafting  and  budding.  In  what 
has  been  said,  they  have  been  used  as  synonyms,  and  their 


52  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

object  is  precisely  the  same — to  propagate  a  particular 
plant  upon  a  rooted  plant  of  another  kind.  Among 
fruits  we  do  this  because  we  cannot  multiply  choice  vari- 
eties by  seed  or  by  cuttings  ;  stocks  are  raised  from  seed, 
which  if  allowed  to  grow  and  bear,  might  produce  a  poor 
and  worthless  fruit,  o:  it  may  be  a  good  kind.  To  make 
matters  sure,  we  graft  a  twig  of  a  kind  that  we  know 
upon  a  seedling  about  which  we  know  nothing.  With 
Camellias,  the  choice  kinds  cannot  well  be  propagated  from 
cuttings,  but  some  of  the  commoner  kinds  will  grow  in 
this  way,  and  the  choice  Camellias  are  grafted  upon  stocks 
obtained  by  rooting  cuttings  of  the  others  ;  so  in  various 
cases  among  fruits  and  flowers,  budding  or  grafting  af- 
fords the  readiest,  if  not  the  only  method,  by  which  we 
can  multiply  certain  varieties.  A  graft  is  a  twig  contain- 
ing one  or  more  buds,  and  so  inserted  or  planted  in  the 
stock  that  the  new  bark  and  new  wood  of  the  two  shall 
be  in  close  contact ;  in  budding,  a  single  bud  with  no 
wood,  or  as  little  wood  as  possible,  is  inserted  or  planted 
below  the  bark  of  the  stock  and  in  direct  contact  with  its 
new  or  sap-wood.  While  we  give  the  two  operations  dif- 
ferent names,  the  French  call  budding  simply  a  variety  of 
grafting — shield-grafting.  In  a  general  way  it  may  be  stated 
that  in  grafting  we  use  buds  of  a  previous  year,  and  in- 
sert them  upon  the  stock  where  they  are  to  grow  the 
spring  after  they  are  formed,  and  as  soon  as  vegetation 
starts,  these  buds  commence  to  grow.  In  budding  we 
use  buds  of  the  current  season's  growth ;  the  recently 
formed  buds,  near  the  end  of  the  growing  season,  are 
planted  in  the  stock  where  they  unite,  and  remain  dor- 
mant until  spring,  when  the  inserted  bud  pushes  into 
growth  at  the  time  that  the  natural  buds  of  the  stock 
start.  These  statements  apply  only  to  out-door  grafting 
and  budding ;  when  these  operations  are  performed  under 
glass,  the  propagator  has  control  of  atmospheric  condi- 
tions, and  varies  them  to  suit  the  subjects  in  hand.  In 


GKAFTING. 


53 


out-door  grafting,  such  as  that  upon  fruit-trees,  the  cions 
are  best  if  cut  in  the  fall  and  preserved  in  sand  or  saw- 
dust in  the  cellar  during  the  winter ;  though  with  very 
hardy  sorts  this  is  not  essential,  they  should  be  cut  before 
any  swelling  of  the  buds  takes  place.  The  operation  suc- 
ceeds best  when  the  buds  on  the  cion  are  perfectly  dor- 
mant, and  those  on  the  stock  have  swollen  and  about  to 
open. 

GRAFTING. 

The  various  methods  of  grafting  are  too  many  to  describe 
here  ;  the  simplest  is  the  cleft  graft ;  the  stock  is  sawed 
off  and  the  end  cleft  or  split  for  a  few  inches  down 
through  the  center,  (fig.  16)  ;  the  cion,  (or  two  if  the 
stock  is  over  an  inch  in 
diameter),  with  two  or  three 
buds,  has  its  lower  end 
smoothly  cut  to  form  a 
wedge  a  trifle  thicker  on 
one  side  than  the  other, 
(fig.  17)  ;  the  cleft  in  the 
stock  is  pried  open  by  means 
of  an  iron  wedge  or  a  wedge- 
shaped  stick,  and  the  cion 
or  cions  set  with  the  thicker 
edge  of  the  wedge  outward, 
observing  to  bring  the  in- 
ner bark  and  new  wood 
of  stock  and  cion  in  as 
close  contact  as  possible;  the  opening  wedge  being 
withdrawn,  the  spring  of  the  stock  will  hold  the  cions 
in  place,  (fig.  18) ;  the  junction  is  to  be  covered  with 
grafting  wax,  or  waxed  cloth,  taking  care  to  completely 
cover  every  wounded  portion  of  both  stock  and  cion.  It 
is  by  this  method  that  most  of  the  grafting  is  done  all 
over  the  country  ;  it  is  rude  but  very  successful ;  the  ob- 


Fig.  16.        Fig.  17.        Fig.  18. 

CLEFT  GRAFTING. 


54 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


jection  to  it  is  that  it  leaves  too  great  a  wound  to  be 
closed  over.  For  small  stocks  the  whip-graft  is  generally 
used  ;  it  is  much  easier  to  do  it  than  to  describe  it ;  stock 
and  cion  should  be  as  near  of  a  size  as  possible  ;  both  are 
cut  with  a  similar  slope,  and  in  each  slope  is  cut  a  tongue 
asjn  fig.  19  ;  when  the  two  slopes  are  put  together,  the 


/ 


a 

Fig.  19. — WHIP  GRAFT. 


Fig.  20. — SIDE  GBAFT. 


two  tongues  are  interlocked  as  in  the  engraving,  taking 
care  that  the  inner  bark  of  stock  and  cion  come  in  con- 
tact as  completely  as  possible.  In  this  illustration  the 
parts  are  represented  as  tied  with  twine,  to  show  the 
joint  below,  but  in  practice  the  whole  is  completely  cov- 
ered with  a  band  of  waxed  cloth.  This,  where  practica- 
ble, is  an  excellent  graft,  there  being  no  large  wounds  to . 
heal  over,  and  the  points  of  union  are  numerous.  This 
graft  is  much  used  by  nurserymen  in  root-grafting  small 
apple  and  pear  stocks.  A  very  simple  form  called  the  side- 
graft  is  often  employed  by  florists  and  nurserymen ;  the 


GRAFTING. 


55 


cion  is  cut  to  a  long  wedge,  and  the  stock  has  a  down- 
ward cut  made  in  its  stem  into  which  the  cion  is  inserted 
as  in  fig.  20.  In  grafting  the  Camellia  and  other  hard- 
wooded  plants,  a  combination  of  the  whip  and  side  graft 
is  made  use  of  as  shown  in  fig.  21. 

Grafting  wax  used  to  cover  the  wounds  made  in  graft- 
ing may  be  purchased  at  the  seed  and  implement  stores, 
or  the  amateur  can  make  it  himself.  It  should  be  soft 


Fig.  21. — GRAFTING  THE  CAMELLIA. 

enough  to  be  molded  by  the  heat  of  the  hand  on  a  cool 
day,  but  not  so  soft  as  to  run  when  exposed  to  the  heat 
of  the  sun.  It  is  essentially  rosin  and  beeswax,  with  tal- 
low or  linseed  oil  enough  to  make  it  sufficiently  soft.  A 
good  formula  is  rosin  2  Ibs.,  beeswax  T|4  lb.,  tallow  8|4 
Ib.  The  better  way  for  the  amateur  to  use  this  is  to  melt 
the  whole  together  thoroughly  and  then  dip  in  it  strips 
of  well  worn  cloth,  such  as  may  be  torn  from  a  worn-out 
sheet  or  calico  dress.  These  waxed  strips  will  tear  read- 
ily, and  may  be  neatly  fitted  to  the  graft  to  make  a  com- 


56 


FOE  PLEASUEE. 


plete  covering;   the  fingers  should  be  slightly  greased 
when  applying  the  waxed  cloth. 

BUDDING 

The  shoot  or  stock  to  be  budded  upon  must  be  in  a 
thrifty  growing  state,  so  that  the  bark  can  be  raised 
freely  from  the  wood,  and  the  bud  to  be  inserted  must 
be  in  such  a  state  that  it  shows  prominently  at  the  axil  of 
the  leaf.  Select  a  smooth  portion  of  the  stem  of  the 
stock,  strip  it  of  leaves,  sufficiently  to  allow  room  for 
the  operation,  then  make  a  cut  through  the  bark  to  the 

wood  of  an  inch 
or  so,  with  a  cross 
cut  at  the  top,  as 
shown  in  fig.  23  ; 
it  will  be  observed 
that  the  illustra- 
tion shows  that  a 
slight  cut  of  the 
bark  is  made  above 
the  cross  cut,  this 
is  done  to  allow  the 
bud  to  slip  in  bet- 
Fig.  23.  Fig.  23.  Fig.  24.  Fig.  25.  ter- this  custom  we 

BUD.  OUT.  BUD  IN.        BUD  TIED.        t6r>  tniS  C 

think  is  not  gener- 
al, but  we  find  the 
operation  is  done  quicker  and  better  by  its  use.  Then  take 
the  shoot  from  which  the  bud  is  to  be  cut,  and  selecting 
a  properly  developed  bud,  cut  it  from  the  shoot  as  shown 
in  fig.  22  ;  if  the  portion  of  the  shoot  from  which  the  bud 
is  taken  is  well  ripened,  it  is  best  to  separate  the  wood 
from  the  bark  of  the  bud ;  but  if  not  it  had  better  re- 
main on.  Usually  it  is  necessary  to  take  the  wood  from 
buds  on  the  lower  part  of  the  shoot,  while  the  upper 
part  being  less  ripened,  those  buds  may  be  inserted 
with  the  wood  remaining.  The  edges  of  the  cut  in  the 


THE  METHOD  OP  BUDDING. 


TREATMENT  OF  TROPICAL  BULBS,    SEEDS,    ETC.         57 

stock  are  lifted  by  the  point  of  the  knife  or  an  ivory  at- 
tachment to  the  budding-knife,  the  bud  inserted  and 
pushed  down  as  in  fig.  24 ;  the  portion  of  bark  attached 
to  the  bud  that  projects  above  the  horizontal  cut  in  the 
stock  is  cut  off,  and  the  tie  applied.  This  is  usually  bast 
matting,  though  cotton  wick  or  other  soft  material  will 
do.  The  engraving,  fig.  25,  shows  where  to  place  the 
tie,  but  when  of  bast  it  quite  covers  the  wound  and  ex- 
cludes water  and  prevents  drying.  In  two  or  three  weeks 
after  the  bud  has  been  inserted,  it  will  be  safe  to  remove 
the  tying,  and  if  the  operation  has  been  performed  on  a 
Kose  in  June,  it  will  often  make  a  considerable  growth  the 
same  season,  but  it  usually  lies  dormant  until  the  next 
spring.  All  shoots  upon  the  stock  below  the  bud  must 
be  rubbed  off,  and  when  the  bud  that  has  been  inserted 
starts  to  grow,  the  stem  above  it  must  also  be  cut  back 
just  above,  so  that  the  inserted  bud  which  now  becomes 
the  plant,  may  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  root. 


CHAPTEK    XVII. 

TREATMENT  OF  TROPICAL  BULBS,  SEEDS,  ETC. 

Any  information  that  can  be  given  in  an  article  short 
enough  to  be  suitable  for  amateurs  on  a  subject  so  ex- 
tended as  this  must  be  confined  to  a  few  well  known  and 
leading  plants  most  valued  for  general  cultivation.  First 
may  be  placed  the  Tuberose,  which  in  most  northern 
states  must  be  artificially  forwarded  to  bloom  in  perfec- 
tion in  the  open  air.  The  seasons  are  too  short  for  the 
full  development  of  the  flowers  in  fall  unless  the  bulbs 
are  so  forwarded.  All  that  it  is  necessary  to  do  is  to 
place  the  dry  bulbs  in  soil  in  pots  or  in  boxes  about  May 


58  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

1st,  (not  before),  keeping  them  rather  dry  until  they 
start  to  grow  freely,  when  more  water  may  be  given. 
Plant  the  bulbs  thus  started  in  the  open  border,  the  first 
week  in  June.  The  bulbs  while  being  forwarded  may  be 
kept  in  any  place  where  the  thermometer  ranges  from 
about  65°  to  75°  at  night.  We  usually  piace  them  un- 
der or  alongside  the  hot- water  pipes  in  our  greenhouses, 
covering  them  up  with  paper  to  keep  the  heat  of  the 
pipes  from  them.  Light  is  not  necessary  until  they  have 
well  started  to  grow.  A  greenhouse  is  not  essential  for 
starting  them  in,  as  a  hot-bed,  or  even  a  warm  sitting 
room,  will  do  nearly  as  well.  Any  one  wishing  to  have 
their  Tuberoses  "started"  can  do  it  themselves  just  as 
well  as  a  florist  can,  and  as  the  dry  bulb  costs  less  than 
half  the  price  of  the  started  one,  and  is  mere  safely 
transported  by  mail  or  otherwise,  any  one  taking  the 
trouble  to  do  it  will  save  expense  and  have  the  bulbs  in 
better  condition  for  planting. 

Some  of  my  readers  have  seen  or  cultivated  the  bulbs 
known  as  fancy  or  spotted-leaved  Caladiums.  There  are 
probably  no  plants  that  assume  such  varied  and  wonder- 
ful markings  of  the  leaves  as  these,  and  when  properly 
grown,  they  are  among  the  most  attractive  plants  at  our 
horticultural  fairs.  The  continued  high  temperature 
necessary  for  the  healthy  growth  of  the  Tuberose,  is 
equally  indispensable  for  the  Caladium.  The  bulbs  we 
treat  at  first  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Tube- 
rose ;  that  is,  they  should  not  be  started  much  before 
May  1st,  and  never  should  they  be  kept  for  any  length  of 
time  in  a  less  temperature  than  65°.  They  are  best 
started  in  small  pots,  and  should  be  shifted  into  larger 
ones  as  soon  as  these  get  filled  with  roots.  Started  in 
May,  and  properly  treated,  they  should  be  large  enough 
by  August  or  September  to  require  a  flower-pot  twelve 
inches  in  diameter,  and  the  plant  should  be,  according  to 
the  variety,  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diameter  across  the 


TREATMENT   OF   TROPICAL   BULBS,    SEEDS,    ETC.          59 

leaves.  Caladiums  require  a  partial  shade,  and  if  kept 
in  a  greenhouse  during  summer,  the  glass  should  be 
shaded,  but  the  light  of  an  ordinary  sitting-room  would 
be  just  about  right ;  so  that  even  those  who  have  not  a 
greenhouse  can  grow  these  rather  rare  and  beautiful 
plants  with  perfect  ease.  The  only  thing  necessary  if 
grown  as  a  window  plant,  is  to  turn  the  pot  around  every 
few  days  so  that  each  side  may  get  a  proper  amount  of 
light — a  necessity  with  all  plants  grown  in  windows. 
The  soil  best  suited  for  its  growth  is  that  known  as  sandy 
loam,  to  which  should  be  added  one-third  rotted  manure 
or  leaf  mold. 

The  same  time  of  starting  and  a  similarly  high  tem- 
perature is  required  for  Begonias  of  all  kinds,  Bouvardias, 
Cissus,  Coleuses,  Dracaenas,  Euphorbias,  Poinsettias,  and 
all  other  plants  known  as  "  hot-house"  or  "  tropical," 
and  the  same  general  treatment  will  in  nearly  all  cases 
lead  to  satisfactory  results.  All  of  the  plants  or  bulbs 
referred  to  will  dwindle  or  die  if  long  kept  in  a  low  tem- 
perature, and  hence  it  is  important  that  amateurs  should 
remember  that  they  ought  not  to  attempt  the  cultivation 
of  these  plants  unless  they  have  the  means  of  steadily 
keeping  up  the  necessary  high  temperature.  For  that 
reason  we  recommend  that  they  should  not  be  started 
before  May,  as  then  they  run  less  risk  of  being  chilled. 

What  is  true  of  tropical  bulbs  or  plants  is  equally  so  of 
tropical  seeds.  Those  who  have  not  had  experience  or 
who  have  not  the  means  of  keeping  up  the  necessary 
high  temperature,  should  not  sow  the  seeds  of  tropical 
plants  before  April  1st.  Of  vegetable  seeds,  the 
best  known  of  this  class  are  the  Tomato,  Pepper,  and 
Egg-plant.  I  know  they  are  often  started  in  March  in 
hot-beds  or  greenhouses  with  satisfactory  results,  but  let 
any  one  try  the  experiment  of  sowing  on  March  1st  and  on 
April  1st,  and  note  the  result  in  the  earliness  of  the  crops, 
from  the  two  sowings,  and  he  will  find  that  the  chances 


60'  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

are  that  the  last  shall  be  first ;  if  it  were  always  practi- 
cable to  keep  the  necessary  temperature  steadily  along, 
the  first  sown  would  be  the  first,  but  this  is  often 
very  difficult  to  accomplish,  while  there  is  but  little  dif- 
ficulty with  the  later  sowing,  as  assistance  is  then  given 
by  the  increasing  outside  temperature.  For  this  reason 
seeds  of  tropical  annual  flowers,  such  as  Amaranths  of  all 
kinds,  Balsams,  Salvias,  Double  Portulacas,  Cannas, 
Coxcombs,  Zinnias,  etc. ,  should  not  be  sown  before  April 
in  the  hot-bed,  or  if  in  the  open  ground,  in  this  latitude, 
not  before  May  15th. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

THE   POTTING   OF   PLANTS. 

This  naturally  follows  the  preceding  chapter,  and  I 
will  briefly  state  a  few  of  the  most  important  points ;  first 
of  all  is  soil,  or  potting  mold,  often  rather  a  troublesome 
thing  to  get  by  those  who  have  only  a  few  dozen  plants 
to  repot.  The  soil  used  by  us,  and  most  florists,  for 
nearly  every  plant  we  grow,  is  one  combining  freshness, 
richness,  and  what  is  called  friableness  of  texture ;  this 
condition  we  get  by  paring  off  the  sod  from  the  roadside, 
mixing  it  with  one-third  of  well-rotted  stable  manure, 
and  throwing  it  in  heaps  until  it  rots  ;  turning  it  over 
two  or  three  times  until  the  whole  is  well  mixed  ;  if  the 
plants  are  small,  we  run  it  through  a  fine  sieve  before 
using  it ;  if  large,  we  use  it  rough,  without  sifting.  But 
it  may  not  always  be  convenient  to  get  this  material,  and 
it  is  by  no  means  indispensable  to  success  ;  leaf-mold 
from  the  woods,  mixed  with  any  fresh  field  loam,  and  a 
little  rotted  stable  manure,  will  answer  nearly  as  well ; 


THE  POTTING  OF  PLANTS.  61 

or  city  folks  can  get  sweepings  from  the  pavements,  and 
these  mixed  in  equal  bulk  with  any  good  fresh  soil,  that 
from  an  old  cultivated  garden  is  not  usually  so  good, 
will  make  a  potting  soil  in  which  almost  any  plant  will 
grow  vigorously  ;  of  late  years  we  have  used  street  sweep- 
ings largely  in  our  potting  soil,  and  like  it  very  much. 

Now  having  the  soil  in  proper  condition,  the  next 
thing  is  the  pots,  which,  if  they  are  not  new,  should  be 
thoroughly  washed,  so  that  the  evaporation  of  moisture 
will  take  place  freely  through  the  porous  sides.  One  of 
the  most  common  errors  among  amateur  cultivators  is  to 
put  their  plants  in  too  large  pots.  If  a  plant  such  as  a 
Kose  or  Geranium  is  lifted  up  out  of  the  ground  to  be 
potted,  it  should  be  placed  in  a  pot  only  large  enough  to 
allow  an  inch  or  so  of  soil  to  be  placed  below,  and  around 
its  roots, — or  to  make  it  better  understood,  if  the  plants 
are,  say  a  foot  high,  and  a  foot  in  diameter,  they  should 
be  pruned  back  so  that  the  diameter  will  not  be  more 
than  6  or  8  inches,  and  for  such  sized  plants  the  pot 
should  not  be  more  than  6  inches  wide  and  deep. 

The  same  rule  applies  to  plants  that  have  been  grow- 
ing in  pots ;  if  it  is  now  in  a  pot  three  inches  wide,  a  proper 
shift  will  be  to  one  four  or  four  and  a  half  inches  wide ; 
if  in  a  five-inch,  shift  to  six  and  a  half  or  seven-inch, 
and  so  on.  In  taking  a  plant  out  of  a  pot  to  place  it  in 
another  one,  turn  it  upside  down  with  the  fingers  of  the 
left  hand  spread  over  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  top  of 
the  ball ;  with  the  right  hand  holding  the  pot  by  the 
bottom,  give  the  rim  a  smart  rap  on  the  edge  of  a 
board,  and  the  ball  of  earth  enveloping  the  root  will 
come  out,  just  as  a  jelly  will  out  of  a  mold.  I  am  par- 
ticular in  referring  to  this  simple  matter,  knowing  that 
it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  ladies  to  break  the  pot  with 
a  hammer  in  their  endeavors  to  get  at  the  root,  although 
they  would  hardly  sacrifice  a  bowl  to  get  at  the  jelly. 
In  shifting,  or  repotting,  place  a  little  soil  in  the  bottom 


62  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

of  the  pot,  then  place  in  the  ball  of  roots  exactly  in  the 
center,  which  will  leave  a  space  of  from  half  an  inch  to 
two  or  three  inches  between  this  and  the  sides  of  the  pot, 
according  to  the  size  of  plant  to  be  shifted ;  to  pack  this 
space  between  the  side  of  the  pot  and  the  ball  of  roots 
with  soil,  it  is  better  to  use  a  flat  stick  with  which  to 
crowd  it  in  moderately  firm,  filling  up  the  pot  to  with- 
in an  inch  or  so  of  the  rim,  this  space  being  required  to 
enable  it  to  hold  water.  After  potting,  give  a  good 
watering  with  a  sprinkler  to  settle  the  soil  to  the  bottom 
of  the  pot,  but  after  this  be  sparing  of  water  until  the 
plant  shows  signs  of  new  growth,  which  will  take  place 
simultaneously  with  its  making  roots  in  the  fresh  soil. 
We  use  no  potsherds  or  drainage  of  any  sort  in  our  pots, 
believing  it  to  be  perfectly  useless  to  do  so,  the  evapora- 
tion from  the  porous  sides  of  the  pot  in  our  dry  climate 
giving  drainage  enough.  In  the  greenhouse  we  always 
spread  an  inch  or  so  of  sand  on  the  bench  or  table 
upon  which  the  plants  stand  ;  this  to  some  extent  pre- 
vents the  plants  from  being  injured  when  watering  has 
been  too  long  neglected,  as  the  pots  and  the  soil  imbibe 
moisture  from  the  sand  which  is  usually  more  or  less  wet. 
When  the  plants  are  placed  on  bare  shelves,  either  in  the 
sitting-room  where  they  are  well  exposed  to  light,  or  in 
the  greenhouse,  watering  should  be  done  at  least  once  a 
day,  provided  they  are  growing  vigorously. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

WINTER   FLOWERING  PLANTS. 

The  increase  in  the  taste  for  winter-flowering  plants, 
within  the  past  five  years,  has  been  even  more  positive 
than  that  for  the  cultivation  of  plants  out  of  doors, 
formerly  it  was  rare  for  florists  to  fill  an  order  in  the  fall, 


WINTER  FLOWERING   PLANTS.  63 

but  now,  during  the  months  of  October,  November, 
and  December,  they  make  shipments  daily  in  large 
quantities  to  every  section  of  the  country  ;  and  these 
nearly  equaling  in  number  those  of  plants  for  the  open 
ground  in  May  and  June.  The  plants  best  suited  for 
flowering  in  winter  may  be  divided  into  two  classes. 
First,  those  requiring  a  moderate  temperature  at  night, 
say  an  average  of  50  degrees.  Whether  the  plants  are 
grown  in  the  parlor  or  sitting-room  of  a  private  dwelling, 
or  in  a  greenhouse  especially  constructed  for  their  cul- 
ture, the  conditions  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible  the 
same  ;  that  is,  uniformity  of  temperature  ranging  from 
45°  to  55°,  and  an  avoidance  of  a  dry  atmosphere ;  it  is 
easy  enough  in  the  greenhouse  to  get  a  properly  hu- 
mid atmosphere  by  sprinkling  the  paths  with  water  ; 
but  in  a  room  in  the  dwelling  house,  the  only  thing  that 
can  be  done  is  to  place  pans  of  water  on  the  stove,  fur- 
nace, or  whatever  may  be  the  source  of  heat.  If  plants 
are  kept  in  a  sitting-room  or  parlor,  an  east,  south-east,  or 
south  aspect  should  be  chosen.  Plants  of  the  class 
that  may  be  grown  at  an  average  temperature  of  50 
degrees,  are  Azaleas,  Abutilons,  Ageratums,  Carnations, 
Cinerarias,  Catalonian  Jessamines,  Cape  Jessamines, 
Camellias,  Callas,  Chorizemas,  Geraniums  of  all  kinds, 
Hibiscus,  Hyacinths,  Myrsiphyllum,  (Smilax),  Maher- 
nias,  Primulas,  Stevias,  Eoses,  Violets,  and  the  various 
kinds  known  as  greenhouse  plants,  which,  together  with 
those  above  named,  can  be  found  fully  described  in  the 
florists'  catalogues. 

The  second  class,  or  hot-house  plants,  require  an  aver- 
age temperature  of  60  degrees  at  night,  the  range  of 
which,  however,  may  occasionally  run  from  55°  to  65° 
without  injury.  Of  these  we  name  the  following  :  Be- 
gonias, Bouvardias,  Clerodendrons,  Euphorbias,  Epiphyl- 
lums,  Fuchsias,  Heliotropes,  Poinsettia,  Roses,  (these 
will  do  in  either  temperature),  Tuberoses,  etc.  For  de- 


64  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

scriptions  of  varieties,  reference  may  be  made  to  the  cat- 
alogues. The  necessity  for  this  difference  in  temperature 
is  not  absolute,  as  many  plants  will  do  partially  well  in 
either ;  but  we  make  this  distinction  as  a  guide  to  those 
having  a  choice  of  temperatures,  in  order  that  they  may 
select  the  plants  that  are  best  adapted  to  the  one  at  com- 
mand. In  a  greenhouse,  particularly  if  heated  by  a  flue, 
there  is  often  a  difference  of  five  or  ten  degrees  between 
one  end  and  the  other  ;  in  such  a  case  the  plants  named 
in  the  first  class  must  be  placed  at  the  cool  end,  and  those 
of  the  second  class  at  the  other. 

One  of  the  most  troublesome  pests  of  plants  grown  in 
the  greenhouse,  or  sitting-room,  in  winter,  is  the  aphis, 
or  "  green  fly/5  as  it  is  termed ;  we  have  no  difficulty  in 
getting  rid  of  it  in  the  greenhouse,  when  it  is  separate 
from  the  house  ;  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  get  some  to- 
bacco stems  (such  as  are  thrown  out  as  refuse  by  cigar 
makers),  and  soak  them  in  water  for  a  minute  or  two  ; 
about  half  a  pound  or  so  for  a  greenhouse  25  x  20  feet  is 
placed  over  a  small  handful  of  shavings,  only  enough  to 
light  the  dampened  tobacco,  as  too  many  might  injure 
the  plants  by  smoke ;  the  burned  tobacco  stems  give  out 
a  smoke  that  is  quickly  fatal  to  the  "green  fly."  To 
thoroughly  prevent  the  least  appearance  of  this  insect,  the 
greenhouse  must  be  fumigated  every  four  or  five  days. 
We  fumigate  all  our  greenhouses  twice  each  week  during 
the  entire  year  ;  our  rule  being  that  an  aphis  must  never 
be  seen  upon  any  plant  in  the  houses.  If  the  greenhouse 
is  attached  to  the  dwelling,  so  that  the  tobacco  smoke 
would  find  its  way  into  the  rooms,  recourse  may  be  had 
to  another  remedy  ;  take  these  same  waste  tobacco  stems 
and  steep  them  in  water  until  the  liquid  is  of  the  color 
of  strong  tea,  with  this  water  syringe  the  plants  freely 
twice  a  week,  this  will  not  only  effectually  destroy  the 
green  fly,  but  will  keep  in  check  most  other  insects  that 
infest  plants.  Where  only  a  few  plants  are  kept  in 


WINTER  FLOWERING   PLANTS.  65 

rooms,  the  easiest  way  is  to  dip  the  plants  entirely  in 
the  tobacco  water,  moving  them  up  and  down  in  the 
liquid,  to  wash  the  insects  off  if  they  have  a  firm 
hold.  The  "red  spider"  is  another  pest  to  winter 
blooming  plants,  and  wherever  it  is  seen  you  may  be  cer- 
tain that  the  atmosphere  has  been  too  dry,  and  very 
likely  the  temperature  too  hot,  as  it  is  rarely  found  in 
a  cool,  damp  atmosphere.  The  treatment  for  this  insect 
in  the  greenhouse  is  copious  syringings  with  water,  but 
where  but  a  few  plants  are  grown  in  the  house,  it  is  best 
to  go  over  the  leaves,  especially  on  the  under  side,  with 
a  wet  sponge.  The  red  spider  is  so  minute  that  it  is 
hardly  distinguishable  by  the  naked  eye,  but  its  destruc- 
tive effects  are  quickly  perceivable,  as  the  leaves  upon 
which  it  works  soon  become  brown,  and  if  the  leaves  are 
closely  examined,  particularly  the  underside,  the  minute 
insect  will  be  seen  in  great  numbers. 

Another  troublesome  insect  among  plants  that  are 
grown  in  a  high  temperature  is  the  "  mealy  bug."  The 
insect  is  flat,  of  whitish  brown,  usually  nestling  at  the 
axils  of  the  leaves,  where  it  is  covered  with  a  white  pow- 
der, making  it  easily  distinguishable  ;  this  is  one  of  the 
most  annoying  of  all  insects  that  attack  plants,  as  noth- 
ing seems  to  kill  it,  unless  the  remedy  is  strong  enough 
to  injure  the  plants  ;  so  that  rubbing  it  off  with  a  small 
brush  is  the  only  safe  remedy  that  we  would  care  to 
recommend  to  amateurs.  We  find  alcohol  thrown  on  by 
what  is  called  an  "  atomizer,"  sold  by  druggists  for  be- 
dewing with  perfumes,  to  be  very  effective  in  destroy- 
ing the  "mealy  bug,"  as  the  alcohol  reaches  to  every 
part  of  the  plant,  but  we  also  find  that  some  plants  when 
in  very  soft  growth  are  injured  by  even  this  light  appli- 
cation of  alcohol.  Another  pest,  not  an  insect,  but  a 
vegetable  parasitic  growth  known  as  mildew,  affects  but 
few  plants  in-doors  except  the  rose,  still  as  it  is  most  in- 
jurious to  those,  we  give  the  most  effectual  remedy  for 


66  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

destroying  mildew  on  roses  either  outside  or  under  cover. 
Boil  one  Ib.  of  lime  and  one  Ib.  of  sulphur  in  two  gal- 
lons of  water,  until  it  is  reduced  to  one  gallon  ;  allow  the 
liquid  to  settle  until  clear,  and  bottle  it  for  use ;  one 
gill  only,  no  more,  of  this  liquid,  is  mixed  in  five  gallons 
of  water,  and  this  syringed  thoroughly  over  the  rose 
plants  in  the  evening.  If  in  the  house,  so  that  syringing 
cannot  be  done,  dip  the  plants  in  it  as  recommended  for 
the  tobacco  water.  As  with  most  other  remedies,  we  pre- 
fer to  use  this  lime  and  sulphur  mixture  as  a  preventive 
rather  than  as  a  cure,  and  we  apply  it  to  our  roses  at 
least  once  a  week,  even  though  there  is  no  appearance  of 
mildew.  In  proportion  as  plants  are  kept  free  from  in- 
sects and  mildew,  so  will  be  their  vigor  and  their  thrifti- 
ness.  For  more  complete  information  see  special  chapter 
on  insects  and  mildew. 

I  may  here  warn  the  amateur  against  the  too  common 
practice  of  placing  plants  in  too  large  pots.  As  a  gen- 
eral thing,  when  plants  are  received  from  the  florists, 
they  are  sent  without  pots,  and  are  usually  in  a  condition 
requiring  them  to  be  shifted  into  a  pot  larger  than  they 
had  been  growing  in;  for  example,  if  they  have  been 
grown  in  a  pot  of  3  inches  diameter,  place  them  in  one 
a  size  larger,  or  4  inches  in  diameter  ;  if  they  were  in  4- 
inch  pots  give  them  one  5  or  6  inches  across,  and  so  on. 
Though  we  entirely  ignore  the  use  of  crocks,  or  drainage 
in  pots  in  our  own  practice,  where  we  have  always  the 
proper  sizes  to  use  in  potting,  yet  in  cases  where  a  suita- 
ble sized  pot  is  not  on  hand  into  which  to  shift,  (for  ex- 
ample, if  a  plant  that  has  been  grown  in  a  pot  of  3 
inches  diameter,  must  be  put  in  one  of  6  inches), 
then  by  all  means  fill  up  one-third  of  this  too  large  pot 
with  broken  pots,  charcoal,  or  some  such  material  to 
drain  off  the  surplus  moisture  that  would  otherwise  be 
injurious,  in  consequence  of  the  pot  being  too  large 
for  the  plant ;  but  if  the  pot  into  which  it  is  shifted  is 


UNHEALTHY  PLANTS — THE  KEMEDY.        67 

properly  adjusted  to  the  wants  of  the  plant,  the  putting 
in  of  crocks  for  drainage  is  worse  than  useless,  I  care  not 
what  the  plant  may  be.  Our  greenhouse  establishment 
now  covers  nearly  two  acres,  yet  not  a  pot  is  so  "  drained." 
The  need  of  a  larger  pot  is  shown  by  the  earth  becoming 
so  filled  with  roots  that  they  well  cover  the  outside  of  the 
ball,  but  shifting  into  a  larger  pot  should  be  done  while 
the  roots  are  yet  white ;  if  left  until  the  roots  get  thor- 
oughly matted,  brown,  and  hard,  it  is  too  late,  and  the 
future  growth  will  be  seriously  retarded.  If  the  plant 
has  been  allowed  to  reach  this  condition,  which  we 
call  "pot  bound,"  it  is  best  to  lay  the  ball  of  roots 
on  one  hand  and  slap  it  smartly  so  as  to  loosen  it ; 
by  this  treatment  the  new  fibres  strike  out  more  read- 
ily from  the  hard  roots  than  if  left  with  the  ball  still 
compact.  After  shifting  a  plant,  give  it  one  good  water- 
ing, so  that  the  soil  will  be  thoroughly  soaked  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  pot ;  but  after  that,  keep  rather  dry  until 
there  are  indications  of  new  growth.  For  manner  of  pot- 
ting, see  chapter  on  "The  Potting  of  Plants."  We  are 
often  asked  as  to  the  use  of  guano  and  other  fertilizers  on 
in-door  plants.  As  a  general  thing  we  use  none  in  our 
own  practice,  preferring  to  shift  the  plants  into  fresh  soil 
at  the  proper  time,  rather  than  to  do  so,  and  we  would 
advise  the  same  to  our  friends  of  less  experience,  for  the 
use  of  all  such  stimulants  is,  under  certain  conditions 
of  the  plants,  dangerous  in  unpracticed  hands. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

UNHEALTHY  PLANTS— THE  REMEDT. 

Whenever  plants  begin  to  drop  their  leaves,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  their  health  has  been  injured ;  this  may  be  due  to 
over-potting,  over-watering,  over-heating,  too  much  cold, 


68  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

or  the  application  of  such  stimulants  as  guano,  or  to  some 
other  cause  which  has  destroyed  the  fine  rootlets  by  which 
the  plant  feeds,  and  induced  disease  that  may  lead  to 
death.  The  case  is  not  usually  important  enough  to  call 
in  a  "  plant  doctor,"  so  the  amateur  begins  to  treat  the 
patient,  and  the  practice  is  in  all  probability  not  unlike 
that  of  many  of  our  household  physicians  who  apply  a 
remedy  that  increases  the  disease.  Having  already  de- 
stroyed the,  so  to  speak,  nutritive  organs  of  the  plant, 
the  stomach  is  gorged  with  food  by  applying  water,  or 
with  medicine,  by  applying  guano  or  some  patent  "  plant 
food."  Now  the  remedy  is  nearly  akin  to  what  is  a  good 
one  when  the  animal  digestion  is  deranged — give  it  no 
more  food  until  it  re-acts.  We  must  then,  if  the  roots 
of  the  plant  have  been  injured  from  any  of  the  above 
named  causes,  let  the  soil  in  which  it  is  potted  become 
nearly  dry  ;  then  remove  the  plant  from  the  pot,  take 
the  ball  of  soil  in  which  the  roots  have  been  enveloped, 
and  crush  it  between  the  hands  just  enough  to  allow  all 
the  sour  outer  crust  of  the  ball  of  earth  to  be  shaken  off  ; 
then  re-pot  in  rather  dry  soil,  (composed  of  any  fresh 
soil  mixed  with  equal  bulk  of  leaf-mold  or  street  sweep- 
ings), using  a  new  flower-pot,  or  the  old  one,  thor- 
oughly washing  it,  so  that  the  moisture  can  freely  evap- 
orate through  the  pores.  Be  careful  not  to  over-feed  the 
sick  plant.  Let  the  pot  be  only  large  enough  to  admit 
of  not  more  than  an  inch  of  soil  between  the  pot  and  ball 
of  roots.  After  re-potting,  give  it  water  enough  to  set- 
tle the  soil,  and  do  not  apply  any  more  until  the  plant 
has  begun  to  grow,  unless  indeed  the  atmosphere  is  so 
dry  that  the  moisture  has  entirely  evaporated  from  the 
soil,  then  of  course  water  must  be  given,  or  the  patient 
may  die  from  the  opposite  cause — starvation.  The  dan- 
ger to  be  avoided  is  in  all  probability  that  which  brought 
on  the  sickness,  namely  :  saturation  of  the  soil  by  too 
much  water.  Other  causes  may  induce  sickness  in 


PLANTS   SUITED   FOE   SUMMER   DECORATION.  69 

plants,  such  as  an  escape  of  gas  in  the  apartment,  or 
smoke  from  a  flue  in  the  greenhouse,  but  in  all  cases, 
when  the  leaves  fall  from  a  plant,  withhold  water,  and 
if  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  soil  has  been  poi- 
soned by  gas,  or  soddened  with  moisture,  shake  it  from 
the  roots  as  before  advised,  and  re-pot  in  a  fresh  flower- 
pot. Many  years  ago,  when  I  used  smoke-flues  in  my 
greenhouses,  some  kindling  wood,  carelessly  thrown  on 
the  top  of  one  of  them,  ignited,  and  the  smoke  caused 
the  leaves  of  every  plant  to  drop.  There  were  some  3,000 
plants,  mostly  Tea-Eoses,  in  the  greenhouse ;  it  would 
have  been  too  much  of  a  job  to  re-pot  all,  but  by  with- 
holding water  for  some  ten  days,  they  started  a  new 
growth  again,  and  very  few  plants  were  injured. 


CHAPTER    XXL 

PLANTS   SUITED   FOR   SUMMER   DECORATION. 

Quite  a  number  of  winter-blooming  plants  can  also  be 
used  for  flowering  in  the  open  borders  in  summer. 
Among  these  are  Carnations,  Heliotropes,  Fuchsias,  Ge- 
raniums, and  particularly  the  monthly  varieties  of  Roses. 
Also  the  following,  not  strictly  winter-flowering,  are  such 
as  will  give  a  continuous  bloom  during  the  whole  season, 
from  June  until  October  or  November.  Antirrhinums, 
(raised  either  from  seeds  or  cuttings),  Dwarf  Dahlias, 
Erythrina  or  Coral  Plant,  Gladiolus,  Geraniums  of  all 
kinds,  particularly  the  class  known  as  "  Zonal,"  double 
and  single,  Lantanas,  Lobelias,  (seeds  or  cuttings),  Petu- 
nias, single,  (seeds  or  cuttings),  Petunias,  double  ;  Pan- 
sies,  (seeds  only)  ;  Pentstemons,  Passion-flowers,  Ronde- 
letias,  Salvias,  (seeds  or  cuttings)  ;  Tropasolums,  (seeds  or 


70  GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 

cuttings) ;  Verbenas,  (seeds  or  cuttings) ;  Veronicas.  All  of 
the  above  have  their  principal  attraction  in  their  flowers. 
The  following  are  only  useful  for  the  brilliant  color- 
ing or  other  peculiarities  of  foliage.  Alternantheras, 
Achyranthes,  Artemisias,  Cerastium,  Centaureas,  (seeds 
or  cuttings) ;  Caladiums,  Coleus,  Cinerarias,  (seeds  or 
cuttings);  Dracaenas,  Echeverias,  Geraniums, (silver,  gold, 
or  bronze) ;  variegated  Ivies  ;  Lysimachia,  variegated 
Grasses  ;  Peristrophe,  Sanchezia  nobilis,  Vinca  major, 
etc.,  etc.  For  descriptions  see  florists'  catalogues.  All 
of  the  above  can  be  raised  from  slips  or  cuttings  taken 
from  plants,  (or  by  seeds  where  noted),  during  the  win- 
ter or  early  spring  months — January,  February,  March, 
or  April,  either  from  plants  that  have  been  kept  for 
flowering  in  winter,  or  from  large  plants  that  have  been 
preserved  for  the  purpose  of  propagation ;  the  young 
plants  raised  from  slips  are  in  nearly  every  instance 
preferable  to  the  old  plants.  Our  practice  is,  to  grow 
the  old,  or  "stock"  plants,  simply  to  make  cuttings,  until 
we  get  enough  from  them,  and  then  to  throw  the  old 
plant  away,  reserving  the  young  ones  only  for  sell- 
ing, or  for  our  own  planting  in  the  open  borders. 
Cuttings  are  rooted  in  the  way  described  in  the  chapter 
on  "  Propagation  of  Plants  by  Cuttings,"  or  if  by  seeds, 
as  in  chapter  on  "Propagation  by  Seeds."  The  young 
plants  should  first  be  potted  in  2-inch  pots,  and  if  early 
in  the  season,  they  will  require  to  be  shifted  into  3-inch 
pots  before  it  is  time  to  plant  them  out  in  the  open 
ground,  which  it  is  not  safe  to  do  in  this  latitude  until  the 
middle  of  May  ;  nor  in  any  other  latitude  before  the 
time  when  tomatoes  or  egg  plants  can  safely  be  planted  out. 
Nothing  is  more  satisfactory  to  the  lover  of  flowers  than 
raising  his  own  plants,  no  matter  how  able  he  may  be  to 
purchase.  Those  of  his  own  raising,  whether  for  his  own 
use  or  to  present  to  his  friends,  are  always  more  val- 
uable than  anything  that  money  can  buy.  One  of  the 


PLANTS   SUITED   FOR   SUMMER   DECORATION.  71 

most  common  mistakes  made  by  purchasers  of  plants  in 
our  city  markets,  is  that  of  almost  invariably  choosing 
large  plants,  forced  into  flower ;  such  plants  are  usually 
grown  under  a  high  temperature  to  get  them  in  bloom 
early,  and  many  a  housewife  has  found  that  the  beautiful 
full  blooming  plant  of  a  Rose,  Fuchsia,  or  Pelargonium, 
which  she  so  tenderly  carried  home,  will  in  48  hours  drop 
its  flowers  and  leaves  in  the  cooler  and  drier  atmosphere 
of  her  greenhouse,  parlor,  or  garden.  But  the  florist  is 
hardly  to  blame  for  this,  though  I  know  he  is  often  se- 
verely censured  ;  not  one  in  a  score  of  those  who  pur- 
chase plants  in  spring  will  buy  any  plant  unless  it  is  in 
bloom  ;  the  florist  grows  plants  to  sell,  and  must  suit  the 
wants  of  his  customer.  This  partial  divergence  from  the 
subject  in  hand,  is  to  show  that  the  small  slips  or  cut- 
tings that  the  amateur  may  raise  himself,  are  in  most  in- 
stances better  than  full-blown  forced  plants,  costing 
50c.  or  $1  each.  This  is  particularly  so  with  monthly 
Roses,  Verbenas,  and  Petunias  ;  young  plants  of  these, 
set  out  in  May,  if  not  more  than  3  or  6  inches  high,  will 
grow  and  bloom  in  profusion  the  entire  summer,  while 
those  which  have  been  forced,  if  they  recover  at  all,  wil) 
be  greatly  inferior. 

We  plant  our  young  Roses  in  May,  usually  in  beds 
4  feet  wide,  setting  the  plants  12  inches  apart  each  way  ; 
they  begin  to  bloom  by  the  middle  of  June,  and  con- 
tinue without  interruption  until  checked  by  frost  in  the 
fall ;  and  so  with  most  other  kinds  here  named  ;  nearly 
all  of  which  are  from  young  plants,  propagated  during  the 
winter  and  spring  months.  The  product  of  cuttings  or 
slips  from  a  " stock"  plant  varies  greatly  according  to  the 
kind.  A  good  healthy  plant  of  Fuchsia,  say  18  inches 
high,  will  easily  give  40  cuttings  ;  while  a  Rose  or  Gera- 
nium of  the  same  size  will  not  afford  half  that  number. 
A  fair  average  for  medium  sized  plants  of  those  named 
would  be  10  cuttings  or  slips  to  each  plant,  so  that  start- 


72  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

ing  with  100  plants  in  the  fall,  by  May  1,000  would  be  no 
unreasonable,  increase  to  expect ;  or  in  that  ratio  be  the 
number  more  or  less. 

If  large  quantities  of  plants  are  wanted  for  summer  dec- 
oration by  those  who  have  neglected  to  propagate  them,  or 
did  not  wish  to  do  so,  they  should  purchase  young  plants  in 
March  or  April,  at  which  time  the  florists,  to  make  room 
in  their  houses,  sell  them  at  very  low  rates,  usually 
not  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  price  that  the  same 
plants  forced  into  bloom  in  May  would  cost.  Such  plants 
at  that  season  are  grown  mainly  in  2  and  3-inch  pots  ;  if 
taken  from  these  pots,  say  by  1st  of  April,  and  kept  in 
any  cool  room  or  greenhouse,  where  the  temperature  will 
average  45°  or  50°  at  night,  by  the  time  of  setting  out  in 
May  they  will  have  formed  far  better  plants  than  those 
pushed  rapidly  into  flower  in  May.  Or  in  other  words, 
$10  expended  in  March  or  April,  will  buy  one  hundred 
plants,  which,  if  cared  for  as  above  described,  will  by  the 
middle  of  May  be  of  more  value  than  the  plants  $50 
would  buy  at  that  date  from  the  same  florist. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

HANGING    BASKETS. 

Baskets  in  which  to  grow  plants  are  now  made  in  a  great 
variety  of  styles,  and  of  different  materials.  What  are 
known  as  "rustic"  baskets,  (fig.  26),  are  made  with  the 
receptacle  for  the  earth  covered  mostly  with  laurel  roots, 
which  assume  an  endless  variety  of  grotesque  shapes,  well 
fitted  for  giving  a  rustic  appearance  to  the  outer  covering  of 
the  hanging  basket.  Then  there  are  the  different  forms 
of  wire  baskets,  (fig.  27),  which,  when  used,  are  lined  with 


HANGING  BASKETS. 


73 


moss,  and  being  thus  very  open,  and  allowing  of  com- 
plete drainage,  are  best  suited  of  all  for  the  well  being  of 
the  plants.  A  recent  invention  is  the 
"Balloon "hanging  basket,  (fig.  28), 
the  trellis  part  of  which  is  formed  of 
strips  of  steel;  some  are  so  arranged  as 
to  hold  a  common  flower-pot.  Many 
beautiful  forms 
are  made  from 
pottery  ware, 
colored  so  as  to 
imitate  stumps 
of  wood  and 
other  objects. 
Thousands  of 
these  baskets 
are  used  in  some 
of  their  differ- 
ent forms,  and 
many  grow  their  plants  in  no  other  way,  as  plants  are  not 
only  more  easily  managed  in  these,  but  many  varieties  so 
cultivated  make  a  more  graceful 
growth  than  is  possible  when  they 
are  in  pots.  In  hanging  baskets, 
the  fall,  or  Dutch  bulbs,  of  all 
kinds,  can  be  grown,  giving  them 
exactly  the  treatment  recommend- 
ed for  growing  in  pots  on  page  36. 
When  hanging  baskets  are  hung 
on  the  veranda  or  porch  in  sum- 
mer, a  great  quantity  of  water  is 
usually  required,  as  the  dry  air 
surrounding  the  basket  on  all 
sides  generally  drys  up  the  soil. 
The  simplest  way  of  watering 
them  when  dry,  in  summer,  is  to  immerse  the  basket  in  a 
4 


RUSTIC  HANGING  BASKET. 


Fis-  27- 

WIKE  BASKET. 


28.—  BALLOON  FBAMH. 


74  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

pail  or  tub  of  water,  so  that  the  earth  is  thoroughly  soaked 
through  ;  how  often  this  immerson  will  be  necessary  will 
depend  on  the  weather,  the  condition  of  the  plants 
and  the  quantity  of  earth.  If  the  bowl  of  the  basket  is 
full  of  roots,  and  the  weather  hot  and  dry,  then  once 
each  day  may  be  necessary  ;  while  if  the  weather  is  damp 
and  cool,  it  might  not  require  watering  more  than  once 
a  week.  The  rule  with  these  as  with  all  plants  is — never 
water  unless  they  are  dry,  and  then  water  thoroughly. 
Just  what  this  condition  of  being  "  dry"  is,  is  not  quite 
so  easy  to  describe  ;  as  a  rule  most  soils  when  dry  become 
lighter  in  color  and  crumble  freely  between  the  fingers, 
and  are  free  from  the  putty-like  consistency  they  have 
when  wet.  The  bowls  of  "rustic"  and  "Terra  Gotta" 
forms  of  hanging  baskets  are  usually  without  any  holes 
for  drainage  ;  when  such  is  the  case,  the  purchaser 
should  have  a  few  holes,  say  one-fourth  inch  in  diameter, 
made  in  the  bottom  of  the  bowl,  else  there  is  dan- 
ger that  the  earth  around  the  roots  may  become  satura- 
ted with  water,  unless  unusual  care  is  taken  in  watering. 
There  is  great  diversity  of  taste  displayed  in  the  material 
with  which  these  baskets  are  filled,  and  no  special  list  of 
plants  can  be  given  that  will  not  require  to  be  annually 
changed  and  amended  as  new  plants  are  introduced. 
When  hanging  baskets  are  wanted  for  use  in  shady  rooms, 
or  on  shaded  verandas,  mosses,  (selaginellas),  are  used, 
and  sometimes  exclusively.  Then  for  the  same  condi- 
tions, Ivies  of  all  sorts,  Cissus,  Tradescantias,  Sedums  or 
Stone  Crops,  Fittonias,  Lysimachia  or  Moneywort,  Vin- 
cas,  Ivy-leaved  Geraniums,  Smilax,  etc.,  as  plants  to 
droop  over  the  sides,  or  to  be  trained  to  climb  on  the 
trellis  work  or  supports  of  the  basket,  while  in  the  center 
there  are  used  upright  plants,  such  as  Dracaenas  of  sorts, 
Caladiums,  (if  for  summer),  Marantas,  Centaureas, 
Echeverias,  Ferns,  Sanchezia  nobilis,  and  other  plants  of 
striking  form  or  foliage.  For  baskets  to  be  placed  in  the 


WINDOW   GARDENING.  75 

sun,  or  in  good  light,  an  entirely  different  class  of  plants 
is  needed,  for  with  the  light  we  get  flowers.  As  drooping 
plants  for  the  edges  of  these,  may  be  named  Alternan- 
theras,  Peristrophe  angustifolia  var.,  Lobelias,  Tropseo- 
lums,  Mesembryanthemums,  Petunias,  single  and  double  ; 
Passifloras,  Kondeletias,  Torrenias,  etc.,  while  for  up- 
right or  center  plants,  Achyranthes,  Coleus,  Begonias, 
Geraniums,  Zonal,  double,  single,  and  variegated  leaved, 
or  any  plant  of  not  too  large  a  growth,  and  which  has 
brightness  of  foliage  or  flower.  If  hanging  baskets  are 
exposed  to  the  full  rays  of  the  sun,  or  even  partially  so, 
covering  the  surface  of  the  soil  with  moss  from  the  woods 
will  protect  it  from  drying  too  quickly,  and  will  also  give 
the  basket  a  neater  appearance.  The  soil  used  for  hang- 
ing baskets  need  in  no  way  differ  from  that  for  plants 
grown  in  pots. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

WINDOW    GARDENING. 

"Window  gardening  during  the  summer  months  is  much 
more  successful  in  England  than  with  us,  owing  to 
a  more  temperate  climate,  and  hence  is  there  al- 
most universally  practised.  In  the  cities  especially, 
where  space  is  economized  by  placing  story  upon  story, 
and  the  buildings  are  so  close  that  there  is  often  no 
room  for  even  a  spear  of  grass  to  be  grown,  the  only 
garden  that  is  possible  is  one  formed  in  a  box  on  the  win- 
dow-sill; this  is  limited  in  its  extent,  as  the  space  afford- 
ed is  only  some  4  or  5  feet  in  length,  from  8  to  10  inches 
wide,  with  a  depth  for  the  soil  of  about  6  inches.  These 
boxes,  are  made  of  a  great  variety  of  materials,  such 
as  wood,  terra  cotta,  iron,  etc.,  according  to  the 


76 


GAEDENING  FOE   PLEASUEE. 


taste  or  means  of  the  owner.  As  the  hoxes  are  usually 
too  high  up  to  allow  of  a  close  examination,  and  the  sides 
soon  become  draped  with  dropping  plants,  an  ordinary 
box  of  pine,  as  in  fig.  29,  will  answer  as  well  as  a  more 
expensive  one;  as  it  is  exposed  to  the  weather,  and  the 
weight  of  the  earth  is  considerable,  it  should  be  put  to- 


Fig.  29. — PLAIN  WINDOW-BOX. 

gether  very  firmly.  Having  procured  the  box,  then  let 
a  tinsmith  make  a  lining  or  box  of  zinc  that  will  exactly 
fit  inside  of  it ;  this  needs  only  a  few  tacks  at  the  upper 
edge  to  hold  the  zinc  to  the  wood.  A  more  expensive 
box,  (fig.  30),  is  made  of  wood,  lined  with  zinc,  and  the 
exterior  covered  with  ornamental  tiles,  which  are  kept  in 
place  by  a  proper  molding  at  the  margins.  A  box  of 
this  kind  may  be  covered  with  floor  oil-cloth,  and  if  a 
proper  pattern  be  selected,  it  cannot  at  a  few  yards  off  be 
told  from  the  much  more  costly  tiles.  Many  of  the  streets 


Fig.  30. — WINDOW-BOX  ORNAMENTED  WITH  TILES. 

of  London  and  Edinburgh,  during  the  summer  months, 
present  a  pleasing  appearance,  that  cannot  fail  to  inter- 
est even  those  who  have  no  taste  for  flowers.  The  plants , 
used  are  mainly  such  as  we  recommend  for  hanging  bas- 
kets, those  designated  for  shady  positions  being  used  on  the 
shady  sides  of  the  streets,  and  those  for  flowering  on  the 
sunny  sides.  These  window  gardens  in  summer  produce 


PARLOR  GARDENING.  77 

the  finest  effect  when  planted  with  some  drooping  spe- 
cies. For  our  climate,  during  the  summer  months, 
when  exposed  to  full  sun,  strong,  vigorous-growing 
plants  must  be  selected,  such  as  Tropseolums,  Petunias, 
Passifloras,  etc.  While  for  the  same  position,  the  upright 
plants  may  be  double  and  single  Geraniums,  Heliotropes, 
Mignonnette,  and  the  like.  For  window  boxes  on  the  shady 
side,  use  the  plants  recommended  for  hanging  baskets  in 
shade.  The  soil  may  be  such  as  is  used  for  pots.  Wa- 
tering must  be  given  as  recommended  for  hanging  bas- 
kets, only  in  the  case  of  the  window  box  it  would  not  be 
practicable  to  immerse  it,  nor  is  there  the  same  necessity 
for  doing  so,  as  the  box  is  less  exposed  than  the  hanging 
basket,  which  is  suspended  and  surrounded  by  drying 
air  upon  all  sides.  These  remarks  refer  to  window  gar- 
dening outside  of  the  windows,  or  on  the  outer  sill.  If 
the  boxes  are  placed  inside  in  winter,  which  they  may 
be,  the  treatment  recommended  in  chapter  on  "  Winter 
Flowering  Plants,"  will  be  applicable. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

PARLOR  GARDENING,  OR   THE  CULTIVATION  OF  PLANTS  IN 
ROOMS. 

Parlor  Gardening  has  to  some  extent  been  treated  of 
under  the  head  of  winter  flowering  plants,  but  a  few  ad- 
ditional general  directions  for  plants  not  specially  de- 
signed for  winter  flowering,  may  be  acceptable.  One  of 
the  first  conditions  essential  to  success  is  to  start  with 
healthy  plants.  Even  all  the  professional  skill  of  the 
florist,  with  all  his  appliances,  will  often  fail  to  get  a 
sickly  plant  into  a  healthy  condition.  What  then  can 


78  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

the  amateur  florist  expect  to  do  in  the  often  unequal 
temperature  and  dry  atmosphere  of  a  sitting  room  or 
parlor  ?  If  the  plants  are  purchased  from  the  florist  in  au- 
tumn, to  grow  in  the  house,  they  are  likely  to  be  healthy, 
and  are  usually  in  a  condition  to  shift  into  a  pot  one  size 
larger ;  instructions  for  doing  this  are  given  in  the  chap- 
ter on  "Winter  Flowering  Plants."  But  if  the  plants  to 
be  cultivated  in  the  house  are  such  as  have  been  growing 
in  your  own  flower  borders,  plants  that  were  set  out  in 
spring,  and  have  now  the  full  summer's  luxuriant  growth 
still  on  them,  then  proper  precaution  must  be  taken  in 
lifting  them  and  placing  them  in  pots,  or  the  result  is 
certain  to  be  most  unsatisfactory.  "What  may  seem  to 
the  novice  a  little  singular,  is,  that  the  more  luxuriant  the 
growth  of  the  plant  in  the  open  border,  the  more  danger 
there  is  that  it  will  wilt  or  die  when  lifted  in  the  fall,  and 
placed  in  a  pot.  The  reason  of  this  is  obvious,  when  it  is 
known  that  just  in  proportion  to  the  top  growth  of  a 
plant  is  the  wide-spread  development  of  roots,  and  there- 
fore when  you  lift  a  finely-grown  Geranium  or  Rose  in 
October,  it  is  next  to  impossible,  if  it  is  to  be  got  into  a 
suitable  sized  flower-pot,  to  do  so  without  such  mutila- 
tion of  the  young  roots  as  will  certainly  kill  it,  if  precau- 
tion is  not  taken  to  cut  off  at  least  two-thirds  of  its 
branches.  If  the  plant  is  thus  potted  and  kept  as  dry  as 
it  will  stand  without  actually  withering,  until  it  starts 
growth,  you  may  hope  to  have  a  fairly  healthy  specimen 
by  December,  if  the  lifting  was  done  in  October.  But 
this  practice,  though  often  one  of  necessity,  is  never  sat- 
isfactory. If  the  plants  that  have  done  service  in  the 
borders  in  summer  are  to  be  used  as  ornaments  for  the 
parlor  in  fall,  winter,  and  spring,  they  must  have  a  dif- 
ferent treatment.  All  plants  that  are  intended  for  future 
culture  in  rooms,  should  be  potted  in  the  usual  way, 
into  5  or  6-inch  pots,  when  set  out  in  May  or  June ; 
these  pots  should  be  set  in  the  flower  borders,  but  planted 


PARLOR  GARDENING.  79 

or  "  plunged,"  as  it  is  called,  so  that  the  rim  of  the  pot 
is  level  with  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  plants  will 
flower  if  so  desired,  in  these  pots,  nearly  as  well  as  if  set 
directly  in  the  open  ground,  but  if  wanted  for  flowering 
in  winter,  they  will  bloom  much  better  to  have  the  flow- 
er-buds picked  off  as  fall  approaches.  It  is  also  indispensa- 
bly necessary  that  the  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  pot  be 
entirely  stopped,  so  that  the  roots  cannot  get  through. 
The  object  being  to  confine  the  roots  completely  within 
the  bounds  of  the  pot,  so  that  when  taken  up  in  the  fall 
to  be  shifted  into  a  larger  pot,  the  roots  will  be  undis- 
turbed, and  the  plant  will  grow  on  unchecked.  If  this 
is  not  done,  and  the  roots  find  their  way  through  the 
bottom  of  the  pot,  there  will  be  the  same  difficulty  with 
the  roots  as  if  they  had  not  been  potted.  About  the  best 
time  to  take  plants  in-doors  in  this  climate  is  the  middle 
of  October  ;  in  colder  localities,  earlier,  of  course,  and  in 
warmer,  later ;  always  bearing  in  mind  that  the  longer 
they  can  be  kept  in  the  open  air,  provided  they  are  safe 
from  frost,  the  better.  Plants  suited  for  parlor  culture, 
requiring  a  temperature  of  from  40°  to  50°  at  night, 
with  an  average  of  10°  or  20°  higher  during  the  day  are 
as  follows.  These  are  known  as  greenhouse  plants.  For 
descriptions  see  catalogues  of  florists  and  nurserymen. 

Acacias,  Cupheas, 

Azaleas,  Daphnes, 

*Agapathus,  *Echeverias, 

*Alternantheras,  Ferns,  Greenhouse, 

*Agaves,  Feverfews, 

*Abutilons,  *Fuchsias, 

*Achyranthes,  Geraniums— Pelargoniums, 

Ageratums,  Hoyas,  (wax  plant), 

*Callas,  Holland  Bulbs  of  all  kinds, 

Calceolarias,  *Jessamines  — Catalonian, 

Chorizema,  Jessamines— Cape, 

Cinerarias,  Ivies— parlor  and  hardy, 

*Carnations,  *Ixoras, 

Cyclamen,  Lily  of  the  Valley, 

Camellias,  Lobelias, 


80  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

*Mesembryanthemums,  (wax  pink),    *Primulas,  double  and  single, 

Mahernias,  *Roses, 

Mimulus — Musk,  *Scutellarias, 

*Myrsiphyllum,  or  Smilax,  Veronicas, 

Oranges,  Vincas, 

Oleanders,  Violets, 

Petunias,  Yuccas. 

Pinks, 

What  are  known  as  hot-house,  or  tropical  plants,  re- 
quire a  higher  temperature  than  the  proceeding,  and 
cannot  be  well  grown  unless  with  a  night  temperature  of 
from  60°  to  70°,  and  a  day  temperature  of  from  10°  to 
20°  higher.  The  following,  of  most  of  which  there  are 
several  varieties,  can  be  found  described  in  the  cata- 
logues of  dealers : 

Allamandas,  Ferns,  tropical, 

Allocasias,  Heliotropes, 

Begonias,  Hibiscus, 

Bouvardias,  Marantas, 

Caladiums,  Orchids,  (of  some  kinds), 

Cissus,  Passifloras, 

Clerodendrons,  Peperomias, 

Cobaeas,  Poinsettia, 

Crotons,  Salvias, 

Coleus,  Sanchezias, 

Dracaenas,  Torenias, 

Euphorbias,  Tropaeolums, 

Epiphyllums— Cactus,  Tuberoses. 
Eranthemums, 

This  matter  of  temperature  has  everything  to  do  with 
the  successful  cultivation  of  plants  in  rooms,  or  in  fact 
anywhere.  If  you  attempt,  for  example,  to  grow  Bou- 
vardias or  Begonias  in  an  average  temperature  of  45°  at 
night,  the  plants  will  barely  live,  and  will  not  flower, 
nor  be  healthy.  On  the  other  hand,  if  you  subject  your 
Camellias  or  Geraniums  to  an  average  of  65°  at  night  by 
fire  heat  in  winter,  you  are  almost  certain  to  have  the 
flowers  drop  prematurely.  As  a  rule,  there  are  more  of 
the  plants  known  as  greenhouse  that  will  endure  the 


PARLOR  GARDENING.  81 

high  temperature  necessary  for  the  hot-house  plants, 
than  there  are  of  the  hot-house  plants  that  can  stand 
the  low  temperature,  so  when  no  distinction  can  be  made, 
and  a  high  temperature  only  can  be  had,  all  in  the  list  of 
greenhouse  plants  I  have  marked  with  a  *  may  be  grown 
fairly  in  the  high  temperature,  though  they  would  do 
better  in  the  low  one.  The  culture  of  plants  in  rooms  is 
already  described  in  the  chapter  on  "  Winter  Flowering 
Plants,"  so  that  I  need  not  further  allude  to  it,  except 
to  hint  in  regard  to  the  man- 
ner of  placing  the  plants. 
One  of  the  cheapest  and  neat- 
est contrivances  is  the  "fold- 
ing plant  stand,"  (fig.  31). 
The  sizes  are  from  3  to  6  feet 
wide,  and  8  feet  high,  having 
from  4  to  6  shelves,  and  cap- 
able of  holding  from  25  to 
100  plants.  It  is  hinged  so  , 

,       -    T-,  ,.,  ,        T        Fig.  31.— FOLDING  PLANT  STAND. 

as  to  fold  up  like  a  camp  stool, 

the  shelves  fitting  in  between  the  frames,  and  can  be  thus 
shipped  or  stowed  away  when  not  wanted,  with  great  con- 
venience. Boilers  can  be  attached  to  the  feet,  so  that  it  may 
be  moved  about  as  easily  as  a  table.  Plants,  when  placed 
on  this,  or  similar  stands,  may  be  provided  with  saucers,  so 
that  the  floor  or  carpet  need  not  be  injured  while  water- 
ing. It  is  not  a  good  plan,  however,  to  keep  water  in 
the  saucers.  It  is  always  a  safer  way  of  feeding  the  plant 
to  water  the  soil  on  the  top,  giving  only  enough  for  it 
to  reach  the  bottom,  where,  if  any  water  pass  through, 
it  will  be  held  by  the  saucer.  If  no  saucers  are  used, 
and  we  think  plants  are  generally  grown  more  safely 
without  them,  the  best  plan  is,  to  take  down  the  plants 
from  the  stand,  (three  times  a  week  will  usually  be 
enough),  to  some  place  where  the  water  will  not  do  any 
injury,  and  give  all  such  as  appear  to  be  dry,  a  good 


82  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

soaking  ;  those  not  so  dry,  water  more  sparingly,  and  give 
those  in  which  the  soil  shows  that  it  is  wet,  none  what- 
ever. Let  the  water  drain  off,  pick  off  any  dead  leaves, 
and  replace  the  pots  again  on  the  stand,  being  careful  to 
change  them  as  far  as  possible,  so  that  each  side  of  the 
plant  may  get  its  fair  share  of  light ;  if  the  same  part  is 
always  placed  to  the  light,  the  plant  will  soon  become 
drawn  to  one  side. 


CHAPTEE    XXV. 

WARD1AN  CASES,   FERNERIES,   AND    JARDINIERES. 

The  forms  of  plant  cases  for  the  growth  of  such -plants 
as  require  a  moist,  still  atmosphere,  a  condition  impossi- 
ble to  obtain  in  a  room  in  a  dwelling-house,  nor  even  in 
a  greenhouse,  unless  it  is  specially 
erected  for  the  purpose,  are  numer- 
ous. The  form  commonly  known 
as  the  Wardian  Case,  (fig.  32),  has 
a  base  or  tray  usually  of  black  wal- 
nut, about  6  inches  deep,  and  lined 
with  zinc,  and  glass  sides  and  top ; 
these  differ  in  size,  some  being  as 
large  as  3  feet  on  the  sides.  Another 
neat  and  cheaper  form  is  made  of 
Terra  Cotta,  (fig.  33),  or  other 
earthen  ware ;  these  are  usually 
round  in  shape,  and  of  various  Fi^  ^S.-WABDIAN  CASK. 
sizes,  from  9  to  18  inches  in  diameter.  In  all  these  the 
plants  must  be  covered  with  glass  ;  in  the  Wardian  Case 
there  is  glass  all  around  the  sides  and  top,  the  top  being 
hinged  to  allow  the  escape  of  excess  of  moisture.  In  the 
Jardinieres,  or  circular  form,  the  plants  are  covered  by  a 


WARDIAN  CASES,   FERNERIES,   AND  JARDINIERES.     83 


bell-glass  which  is  tilted  up  a  little  at  the  side,  when 

there  is  an  appearance  of  excess  of  moisture.     This  con- 

dition of  excess  is  known  by  the  glass  becoming  dimmed 

by  moisture,  and  the  water  trickling  down  the  side. 

Usually  when  this  appearance  is  seen,  by  raising  the  glass 

lid  of  the  Wardian  Case  an 

inch  or  so  for  a  day,  it  will 

relieve  it  enough  to  enable  it 

to  be  kept  close,  which  is  the 

proper  way  to  keep  it  for  the 

well  being  of  the  plants.    The 

plants  grown  in  this  way  are 

of    kinds    valued    for    their 

beauty  of  foliage,  rather  than 

for  their  flowers,  and  should 

be  such   as  are   rather  of  a 

slow    growth  ;     all    rampant 

growing  plants,   SUCh   as    Co- 

leus,  are  unsuited.  The 
effectiveness  of  these  cases  depend  a  great  deal  on  the 
arrangement  of  the  plants  ;  the  tallest  and  most  conspic- 
uous things  should  be  in  the  center,  with  smaller  ones 
towards  the  edges,  varying  the  interest  by  contrasting  the 
different  colorings  and  forms  of  leaves.  Among  the 
plants  best  suited  for  growing  under  these  glass  coverings, 
are  Dracaenas,  Gymnostachyums,  Marantas,  Caladiums, 
some  of  the  ornamental  leaved  Eranthemurns,  and  dwarf 
growing  Begonias,  Peperomias,  etc.  ,  and  Ferns  and  Lyco- 
pods  of  the  finer  sorts.  The  most  of  these  are  plants 
whose  natural  habitat  is  shady  woods  or  marshes  ;  and 
for  their  well  being,  the  nearest  that  the  Wardian  Case  or 
Jardiniere  can  be  made  to  imitate  such,  the  better. 

The  soil  used  in  these  cases  should  be  light  and  porous. 
The  most  convenient,  and  a  very  suitable  material,  is  the 
leaf-mold,  which  can  be  got  in  any  piece  of  woodland. 
After  planting,  the  soil  should  be  watered  freely,  so  that 


WTH  GLASS 


SHADE. 


84  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

it  is  settled  around  the  roots.  And  to  allow  evaporation, 
ventilation  should  be  given  for  a  few  days  after  the  water- 
ing, when  the  glass  may  be  put  down  close,  only  to  be 
opened  as  before  directed,  when  an  excess  of  moisture 
shows  on  the  glass.  Other  than  this  there  is  no  trouble 
whatever  in  the  management ;  the  watering  given  on 
planting  will  be  sufficient  to  keep  it  moist  enough  for  6 
or  8  weeks.  In  winter  the  temperature  of  the  room  in 
which  the  Wardian  case  or  fernery  is  kept  may  run  from 
50°  to  70°  at  night.  These  closed  cases  of  either  kind 
may  be  used  for  growing  Hyacinths  in  winter  if  de- 
sired, for  which  they  are  particularly  well  adapted ; 
only,  that  when  brought  into  the  room  to  flower,  the 
cases  will  require  daily  ventilation.  After  planting  the 
Hyacinths  in  the  cases,  however,  it  must  not  be  forgot- 
ten that  they  must  be  kept  in  a  cool,  dark  place,  until 
they  root,  just  as  when  they  are  grown  in  pots,  or  glasses. 
For  further  instructions  on  this  head  see  Hyacinths. 
Lily  of  the  Valley  can  also  be  grown  finely  in  a  Wardian 
case  ;  but  as  it  requires  some  special  treatment,  we  give 
it  in  a  separate  chapter. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

WINTER   FORCING    THE    LILY    OF    THE    VALLEY. 

Within  the  past  three  years  the  fashion  for  the  flowers 
of  Lily  of  the  Valley  has  increased  to  such  an  extent,  that 
though  the  importation  of  roots  has  probably  trebled 
each  year,  the  price  of  the  flower  is  still  quite  as  high  as 
when  the  forcing  first  begun.  The  failures  which  attend 
the  winter  flowering  of  this  plant  are  mainly  owing  to 
the  use  of  improperly  developed  roots.  As  with  other 


WINTER  FORCING  THE  LILY  OF  THE  VALLEY.    85 

similar  plants,  a  certain  size  or  development  of  the  crown, 
or  underground  bud,  is  essential  to  produce  the  flower. 
What  that  size  should  be,  is  not,  even  with  the  most  ex- 
perienced, always  easy  to  determine.  In  the  Tuberose, 
the  Japan,  and  some  other  Lilies,  we  find  that  bulbs  that 
are  less  than  an  inch  in  diameter,  are  not  certain  to 


Fig.  34. — LILY  OP  THE  VALLEY  BUD— GOOD. 

flower.  The  crown,  or  "pip,"  as  florists  sometimes  call 
it,  of  the  Lily  of  the  Valley,  when  sufficiently  developed 
to  flower,  should  be  of  the  size  and  shape  shown  in  fig. 

34.  Those  too  small  to  flower  are  like  that  shown  in  fig. 

35.  But  these  rules  as  to  size  and  shape  are  not  given  as 
certain,  for  few  have  had  experience  enough  to  say  with 
accuracy  at  what  size  the  crown  of  the  Lily  of  the  Valley 
will  not  flower,  although  we  may  say  with  some  certainty, 
if  the  crown  is  large,  that  it  will  do  so.     It  is  the  want 
of  this  knowledge  that,  in  my  opinion,  has  made  the 


86  GARDENING  FOE   PLEASURE. 

flowering  of  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  so  uncertain  when 
forced.  As  in  forcing  the  Hyacinth,  and  other  similar 
bulbs,  crowns  of  the  Lily  of  the  Valley  should  be  covered 
up  outside  for  a  few  weeks,  before  being  brought  into 
the  greenhouse  or  house  to  force.  Those  we  flower  are 
put  in  about  the  middle  of  November,  packed  closely  to- 
gether in  light,  rich  soil,  in  boxes  three  inches  deep. 
These  are  covered  up  outside  with  hay  until  the  first  of 


r 

Fig.  35.— LILT  OP  THE  VALLEY  BUI)— POOR. 

January  ;  they  are  then  brought  into  a  greenhouse,  facing 
north,  where  there  is  no  direct  sunlight  at  that  season. 
The  temperature  is  kept  at  about  70°,  with  a  moist  at- 
mosphere, and  by  the  first  of  February  they  are  in  full 
flower.  The  Lily  of  the  Valley  could  be  grown  finely  in 
a  Wardian  case,  as  it  would  there  get  the  proper  light, 
with  the  necessary  damp  atmosphere.  When  grown  in 
greenhouses,  exposed  to  sunlight,  it  is  necessary  to  shade 


GREENHOUSES  ATTACHED  TO  DWELLINGS.  87 

the  glass  very  heavily.  When  the  flowers  are  about  to 
open,  they  should  then  have  light  to  give  the  leaves  a 
healthy  green  color. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

GREENHOUSES   ATTACHED   TO   DWELLINGS. 

The  taste  engendered  by  growing  plants  in  rooms  often 
results  in  a  desire  to  have  more  appropriate  quarters  for 
the  plants,  and  a  greenhouse  follows.  This  always  affords 
the  most  satisfaction  when  it  is  so  attached  to  the  dwell- 
ing that  opening  a  door  or  window  from  the  dining- 
room  or  parlor,  reveals  the  glories  of  the  greenhouse. 
The  greenhouse,  when  attached  to  the  dwelling,  should  be 
always  on  the  east,  south-east,  south,  or  south-west  sides, 
never  on  the  north.  It  may  be  of  any  length  or  width 
desired.  If  of  ten  feet  width,  it  will  cost  for  erec- 
tion from  $4  to  $6  per  running  foot,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  work.  If  20  feet  wide,  from  $8  to  $10 
per  running  foot.  This  is  exclusive  of  heating,  which,  if 
done  by  hot- water  pipes,  will  cost  for  10  feet  wide,  about 
$4  per  running  foot ;  if  20  feet  wide,  about  $8  per 
running  foot.  Thus  to  complete  a  conservatory,  with 
heating  apparatus,  shelves,  etc.,  10  feet  wide  by  40 
feet  long,  it  would  cost  about  $400;  if  20  x  40  feet, 
about  $800.  In  this  estimate  it  is  assumed  that  the  heat- 
ing is  to  be  done  by  the  Base  Burning  Water-heater, 
of  Hitchings  &  Co.  This  heating  apparatus  is  of  recent 
invention,  and  is  exceedingly  well  adapted  for  the  pur- 
pose, as  the  fire  requires  no  more  attention  than  any 
ordinary  base  burning  stoves.  The  boiler  takes  up  no 
more  room  than  an  ordinary  stove,  and  requires  no  set- 


88 


GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 


ting ;  it  is  shown  in  fig.  36,  and  in  section  in  fig.  37.  It  is 
fed  by  coal  from  the  top,  and  can  be  left  with  safety  10 
or  12  hours  without  any  attention.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  in  constructing  the  conservatory  it  must  be 
built  where  a  chimney  is  accessible  by  which  to  carry  off 
the  smoke  from  the  boiler  or  water  heater,  just  as  would 


Fig.  36.— BASE-BUBNEB.  Fig.  37.— SECTION. 

be  necessary  for  an  ordinary  stove.  If  the  green- 
house is  small  enough  to  be  heated  from  a  register  from 
the  furnace  that  heats  the  dwelling,  much  of  the  cost 
may  be  saved,  as  it  will  be  seen  that  nearly  half  of  the 
cost  of  construction  is  the  heating  apparatus.  Figure 
38  shows  a  front  elevation  of  a  conservatory  suitable  to 


GREENHOUSES  ATTACHED  TO  DWELLINGS.  89 


Fig.  38.— ELEVATION  OF  CONSERVATORY  ATTACHED  TO  DWELLING. 


-30- 


T 


Fig.  39.—  GROUND  PLAN  OP  CONSERVATORY,  FIG.  38. 


90  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

attach  to  dwellings ;  this  is  16  feet  wide  and  30  feet  in 
length.  Its  ground  plan  showing  the  arrangement  of  the 
benches  and  walks,  is  given  in  fig.  39.  Such  a  structure 
in  every  way  complete,  heated  with  Hitchings  Base  Burn- 
ing water-heater,  should  not  exceed  $600. 


CHAPTER 

A  DETACHED  GREENHOUSE  OR  GRAPERY. 

In  cases  where  more  extended  glass  structures  are  de- 
sired, they  are  better  if  detached  from  the  dwelling. 
The  structure  now  given  in  figs.  40  and  41  is  called  a 
curvilinear  span-roofed  house,  100  feet  in  length  by  20  in 
width  ;  fig.  40  shows  the  end  view  and  plan,  and  fig.  41 
gives  sufficient  of  the  elevation  to  show  the  end  and  a 
part  of  the  side.  The  ends  should  face  north  and  south, 
so  that  the  distribution  of  the  sun's  rays  will  be  equal  on 
each  side.  Of  course  there  is  nothing  arbitrary  in  the  size, 
it  may  be  made  50,  75,  or  100  feet  in  length,  or  20  to  25 
feet  in  width  as  desired,  and  may  be  used  either  for  the 
purposes  of  a  vinery  for  the  growing  of  foreign  grapes,  or 
for  a  conservatory  as  desired.  All  the  walling  from  the 
surface  of  the  ground  to  the  glass  of  a  greenhouse,  had 
better  be  made  of  wood,  unless  the  walls  are  made  very 
thick  when  built  of  brick  or  stone  ;  the  continued  warfare 
in  winter  between  a  zero  temperature  outside,  and  60°  to 
70°  inside,  will  in  a  year  or  two  destroy  brick  or  stone 
walls.  When  the  walls  are  formed  of  wood,  the  best  way 
is  to  place  locust  posts  at  distances  of  four  feet  apart, 
and  nail  to  these  a  sheathing  of  boards ;  against  the 
boards  tack  asphaltum  or  tarred  paper,  and  again  against 
that,  place  the  weather-boarding.  This  forms  a  wall 


A  DETACHED   GREENHOUSE   OR  GRAPERY.  91 


SCALE' 


Fig.  40. — END-VIEW  AND  PLAN  OF  DETACHED  GBEENHOUSE  OE  GEAPEET. 


GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 


Fig.  41.— ELEVATION  (IN  PAST)  OF  DETACHED  GBEENHOUSE  OB  GKAPEJBT. 


A  DETACHED   GREENHOUSE  OK  GEAPEET.  93 

which,  if  kept  painted,  will  last  for  50  years,  and  is 
equally  warm  as  a  12-inch  brick  wall,  and  costs  less  than 
half.  We  have  had  just  such  a  structure  in  use  for  the 
past  five  years  as  a  cold  vinery,  that  is  having  no  heating 
apparatus,  the  forwarding  being  done  only  by  the  action 
of  the  sun  on  the  glass,  and  it  has  proved  a  cheap  and 
satisfactory  luxury.  A  conservatory  or  grapery  of  this 
style  costs  from  $10  to  $15  per  running  foot,  without 
heating  apparatus.  Heated  by  hot  water,  it  would  cost 
$20  to  $30  per  running  foot.  If  heated  by  a  horizontal  flue 
in  the  manner  here  described,  the  cost  will  be  only  about 
$15  per  running  foot.  Any  good  bricklayer  should  be  able 
to  build  a  smoke-flue  from  the  following  instructions.  Let 
the  bars  for  the  grate  be,  (if  for  a  glass  surface  of  say  500 
square  feet),  2  feet  in  length  and  about  10  inches  in 
width  ;  or  in  the  proportion  of  about  one-half  a  square 
inch  of  grate  surface  to  one  square  foot  of  glass. 

Most  masons  of  any  experience  know  how  to  build  a 
greenhouse  flue,  but  there  are  a  few  important  points,  the 
knowledge  of  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to  complete 
success.  First,  the  furnace  pit,  if  not  naturally  dry, 
must  be  made  so  by  draining.  After  setting  the  grate- 
bars  in  the  usual  way  by  resting  them  on  an  iron  plate, 
let  into  the  brick  work  at  front  and  back,  the  sides  of 
the  furnace  should  be  built  with  fire-brick  and  fire  clay 
if  at  all  procurable,  to  the  hight  of  from  10  to  20  inches, 
according  to  size  wanted.  On  these  walls  an  arch  is 
turned  over  to  cover  the  furnace;  the  "neck"  of  the 
furnace  rising  at  a  sharp  angle  for  from  2  to  4  feet  until 
it  is  run  into  the  horizontal  smoke-flue.  The  flue  must 
be  raised  from  the  ground  an  inch  or  two  on  bricks  or 
flagging.  This  costs  perhaps  a  third  more  in  building, 
but  it  allows  all  sides  of  the  flue  to  give  off  heat.  The 
cheapest  and  simplest  form  of  flue  is  made  after  the  bot- 
tom is  formed  by  bricks  or  flagging ;  brick  is  best  near 
the  furnace,  as  flagging  would  crack.  Place  two  bricks 


94  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

on  edge,  the  top  being  covered  by  a  brick  laid  flat ;  this 
is  the  smallest  size  of  flue.  Larger  grate  surface  will  re- 
quire correspondingly  greater  hight  and  breadth.  Flues 
are  now  commonly  made  by  using  cement  or  vitrified 
drain  pipe,  to  connect  with  the  brick  flue,  at  from  25  to 
40  feet  from  the  furnace,  the  pipe  not  being  safe  to  use 
near  the  furnace,  as  the  greater  heat  would  be  likely  to 
crack  it.  A  flue,  to  get  the  full  benefit  of  the  fuel,  should 
be  so  arranged  that  it  goes  all  around  the  greenhouse,  the 
base  of  the  chimney  being  the  top  of  the  furnace.  The 
advantage  of  this  plan,  (fig.  42),  which  has  only  recent- 
ly had  general  publicity,  is  that  the  excessive  heat  given 
out  from  the  top  of  the  furnace,  drives  back  the  cold  air 
that  would  otherwise  pass  down  the  chimney ;  not  only 
too  FEET 


FRONT    BENCH           4  FEET  V/IDE 

t 

WALK     2.    FEET    WIDE. 

K> 

in:       ""^liii"  '""*  iz  li 

n 
n 

WALK  p-^  2  FE.ELT    WIDE 
FRONT   BENCH              Fl(KNAj;E                ^    FEET  W,DE 

H 
I 

Xig.  ±A. — PLAN  OF  GREENHOUSE  HEATED  BY  DOUBLE  FLUES. 

drives  it  back,  but  passing  rapidly  out,  "draws"  to  it  the 
heated  air  that  has  to  pass  through  the  length  of  the 
horizontal  flue,  causing  it  to  circulate  so  rapidly  that  all 
parts  of  the  flue  become  nearly  equally  heated.  In  the 
case  represented  in  fig.  42,  the  greenhouse  so  heated 
is  20  feet  wide  by  100  feet  long,  having  a  glass  sur- 
face of  over  2,500  square  feet,  a  size  utterly  impossi- 
ble to  heat  with  a  flue  unless  so  constructed  that  the  base 
of  the  chimney  stands  on  the  top  of  the  furnace.  It  will 
be  seen  by  the  plan  that  there  are  two  flues  running  from 
one  furnace,  and  entering  into  one  chimney.  I  only  il- 
lustrate this  to  show  the  power  given  by  this  method. 
It  would  do  quite  as  well,  if  the  house  was  half  or 
quarter  the  size,  to  have  it  done  by  one  flue  instead  of 
the  two.  I  would  here  say  emphatically  that  no  matter 


HEATING  BY  HOT  WATER.  95 

what  size  a  flue  may  be,  and  whether  single  or  double,  it 
should  in  every  case  be  made  on  the  principle  of  being 
carried  all  around  the  building  until  it  enters  the  upright 
chimney  built  on  the  top  of  the  furnace. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

HEATING    BY   HOT    WATER. 

Although  we  describe  flues  as  a  means  of  heating  green- 
houses or  graperies,  they  should  be  used  only  on  the  score 
of  economy ;  whenever  one  can  afford  to  have  the  heat- 
ing done  in  the  best  manner,  by  all  means  let  it  be 
done  by  hot  water.  The  hot-water  apparatus  requires 
less  attention  than  flues,  and  its  management  is  so  simple 
that  any  one  able  to  take  care  of  an  ordinary  stove  or 
furnace  can  take  charge  of  a  boiler  for  heating  the  water 
in  the  pipes  of  a  greenhouse.  Besides,  there  is  no  danger 
from  smoke  or  gas,  and  but  little  risk  from  fire.  Inside 
the  greenhouse  there  is  no  danger  from  fire  ;  if  they  are 
filled  with  water  the  pipes  cannot  be  made  hot  enough  to 
ignite  the  most  combustible  substances  that  may  come  in 
contact  with  them.  With  the  smoke  flue  it  is  very  dif- 
ferent, dry  wood  or  other  combustible  material  will  ignite 
if  allowed  to  touch  the  brick,  anywhere  within  20  to  40 
feet  of  the  furnace.  There  are  a  great  many  patterns  of 
boilers,  and  to  recommend  one  more  than  another  may 
seem  invidious  ;  still  we  have  had  in  use  quite  a  number 
of  different  styles,  and  have  found  that,  as  far  as  our 
experience  with  them  has  gone,  those  made  by  Hitchings 
&  Co.,  of  New  York,  everything  considered,  have  been 
most  satisfactory.  We  have  several  of  these  boilers  in 
use  that  have  not  cost  a  dollar  for  repair  in  ten  years. 


96 


GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


Fig.  43.— PLAN   OF  HOT-HOUSE  AND  GREENHOUSE  COMBINED. 


HEATING   BY   HOT   WATER. 


97 


Fig.  44.— FND-VIEW  OP  FIG.  43, 

AT  BOILEK  PIT. 


Figure  43  gives  the  ground  plan  of  a  combined  hot-house 
and  greenhouse,  each  20  feet  wide  and  50  feet  long,  show- 
ing the  disposition  of  the  boiler  and  pipes.  If  this 
plan  were  shown  in  full  on  the  page,  the  width  would 
be  quite  too  small,  there- 
fore a  portion  of  the  length 
is  left  out  of  each  compart- 
ment, as  shown  by  the  ir- 
regular lines;  everything  is 
given  in  proper  proportion 
except  the  length,  and  thafc 
is  stated  in  figures.  The 
number  of  pipes  indicated, 
(10),  is  sufficient  to  give  a 
temperature  of  from  60°  to 
70°  at  night  for  the  hot- 
house, and  the  number  given  in  the  greenhouse,  (6),  is 
such  as  will  keep  that  compartment  at  from  40°  to  50° 
in  the  coldest  weather.  A  sectional  view  at  the  end  where 

the  boiler  pit  is  placed  is 
given  in  fig.  44,  and  an- 
other sectional  view  at 
the  partition  between  the 
greenhouse  and  hot-house 
is  shown  in  fig.  45.  The 
cost  of  such  a  structure 
complete  for  the  reception 
of  plants,  would  vary  ac- 
cording to  location,  and 
the  style  of  finish;  in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  at  pres- 
ent prices,  such  a  combined  hot-house  and  greenhouse, 
20x100,  erected  in  a  substantial  manner,  would  cost 
about  $3,000. 


Fig.  45. — END-VIEW  OF  FIG.   43,   AT 

PARTITION  BETWEEN  THE  TWO 

HOUSES. 


98  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XXX. 

GREENHOUSES    OR   PITS,    WITHOUT    ARTIFICIAL   HEATING. 

The  directions  given  for  heating  greenhouses  by  hot 
water  or  by  flues,  apply  of  course  only  to  sections  of  the 
country  where  the  temperature  during  the  winter  months 
makes  heating  a  necessity.  In  many  of  the  southern 
states  there  is  no  need  of  artificial  heat.  A  greenhouse 
tightly  glazed  and  placed  against  a  building  where  it  is 
sheltered  from  the  north  and  north-west  will  keep  out 
frost  when  the  temperature  does  not  fall  lower  than  25 
degrees  above  zero,  and  if  light  wooden  shutters  are  used 
to  cover  the  glass,  all  those  classed  as  "greenhouse" 
plants  will  be  safe  even  at  10 
degrees  lower,  provided,  of 
course,  that  the  conservatory 
is  attached  to  the  dwelling, 
as  shown  in  fig.  38.  Another 
cheap  and  simple  method 
of  keeping  plants  during 
winter  in  mild  latitudes  is  by  FiS-  ^.-SUNKEN  PET. 

the  use  of  the  sunken  pit  or  deep  frame,  which  affords 
the  needed  protection  even  more  completely  than  the  eleva- 
ted greenhouse.  This  is  formed  by  excavating  the  soil  to 
the  depth  of  from  18  to  36  inches,  according  to  the  size 
of  the  plants  it  is  intended  to  contain.  A  convenient 
width  is  6  feet,  the  ordinary  length  of  a  hot-bed  sash, 
and  of  such  length  as  may  be  desired.  Great  care  must 
be  taken  that  the  ground  is  such  that  no  water  will  stand 
in  the  pit ;  if  the  soil  is  moist  it  should  be  drained.  The 
sides  of  the  pit  may  be  either  walled  up  by  a  4  or  8-inch 
course  of  brick  work,  or  planked  up  as  may  be  preferred, 
but  in  either  case  the  lack  wall  should  be  raised  about 
eighteen  inches,  and  the  front  about  six  inches  above  the 


COMBINED   CELLAR  AND   GREENHOUSE.  99 

surface,  in  order  to  give  the  necessary  slope  to  receive  the 
sun's  rays  and  to  shed  the  water.  A  section  of  such  a 
pit  is  shown  in  fig.  46.  If  a  pit  of  this  kind  is  made  in 
a  dry  and  sheltered  position,  and  the  glass  covered  by 
light  shutters  of  half -inch  boards,  it  may  be  used  to  keep 
all  the  hardier  class  of  greenhouse  plants,  even  in  locali- 
ties where  the  thermometer  falls  to  zero. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

COMBINED   CELLAR   AND    GREENHOUSE. 

In  connection  with  the  description  of  the  cold  pit  or 
greenhouse  without  fire  heat,  may  be  mentioned  the  com- 
bined cellar  and  greenhouse.  Many  years  ago  an  acci- 
dental circumstance  gave  me  an  opportunity  of  testing 
the  utility  of  such  a  structure.  An  excavation  of  20  feet 
by  40  had  been  made  7  feet  deep,  and  walled  up  with 
stone  and  beams  laid  across  preparatory  to  placing  a 
building  upon  it,  when  the  owner  changed  his  plans  and 
found  himself  with  this  useless  excavation  within  a  dozen 
yards  of  his  costly  residence.  There  seemed  to  be  no  al- 
ternative but  to  fill  it  up  or  plank  it  over,  but  both  plans 
were  objectionable,  and  in  discussing  how  to  get  out  of 
the  difficulty,  I  suggested  erecting  a  low-roofed  green- 
house over  it,  as  the  owner  had  a  taste  for  cultivating 
plants.  This  suggestion  was  followed,  and  the  walls  were 
raised  one  foot  above  the  surface  and  a  span-roofed  green- 
house erected  over  it. 

My  idea,  (which  was  found  to  be  nearly  correct),  was, 
that  the  large  volume  of  air  in  the  excavation  would  at 
no  season  go  below  40°,  and  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  up- 
per or  greenhouse  portion  of  the  structure  above  the 


100  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

freezing  point  in  the  coldest  weather.  This  it  did  com- 
pletely when  the  glass  was  covered  at  night  with  shut- 
ters ;  and  the  plants  with  which  it  was  filled,  of  a  kind 
requiring  a  low  temperature,  kept  in  better  health  than 
if  they  had  been  grown  in  a  greenhouse  having  fire  heat. 

Now,  although  I  have  never  seen  such  a  combination 
since,  I  am  satisfied  that  in  favorable  circumstances  such 
a  structure  might  be  made  of  great  utility  and  at  a 
trifling  cost,  for  as  it  dispenses  with  heating  apparatus, 
which  usually  is  more  than  half  of  the  whole  cost  in  all 
greenhouses,  the  use  of  a  cellar  and  greenhouse  could  be 
had  at  probably  less  than  the  cost  of  an  ordinary  green- 
house ;  and  for  half  hardy  plants — plants  that  will  do 
well  in  winter  if  kept  only  above  the  freezing  point — such 
a  greenhouse  will  be  better  for  many  of  them  than  any 
kind  of  greenhouse  heated  by  fire  heat.  All  kinds  of 
Eoses,  Camellias,  Azaleas,  Zonal  Geraniums,  Violets, 
Cape  Jessamines,  Carnations,  Abutilons,  Verbenas,  Prim- 
ulas, Stevias,  and,  in  short,  all  plants  known  as  cool 
greenhouse  plants,  will  keep  in  a  healthy,  though  nearly 
dormant  condition,  during  the  winter  months,  but  they 
will  flourish  with  greatly  increased  vigor  at  their  natural 
season  of  growth,  and  flowering  as  spring  advances.  Be- 
sides, the  cellar  may  be  used  for  the  ordinary  purposes  of 
such  a  place  ;  or  if  exclusively  for  horticultural  purposes, 
no  better  place  can  be  had  for  keeping  all  deciduous 
hardy  or  half  hardy  plants,  Hyacinths  in  pots  to  start  to 
flower,  or  any  bulbs  of  similar  nature.  The  great  point 
to  be  observed  is  that  the  soil  where  such  a  structure  is 
to  be  erected  is  entirely  free  from  water,  or  if  not  so  nat- 
urally, must  be  made  entirely  dry  by  draining. 

The  style  that  I  think  would  suit  best  for  general  pur- 
poses would  be  twelve  feet  in  width,  and  of  any  length 
desired.  The  excavation  should  not  be  less  than  seven 
feet  deep,  walled  up  to  about  one  foot  above  the  surface. 
When  complete  it  would  show  something  like  the  section 


COMBINED   CELLAR  AND   GREENHOUSE. 


101 


in  fig.  47.  If  the  glass  roof  is  made  fixed  it  should  have 
ventilating  sashes  3x3,  at  intervals  of  six  or  nine  feet  on 
each  side  of  the  roof  ;  if  of  sashes,  they  should  be  seven 
feet  long  by  three  feet  wide,  every  alternate  one  being 
arranged  to  move  for  ventilation  in  the  usual  way.  The 
position  of  the  structure  would  be  best  with  its  ends  north 


Fig.  47.— GREENHOUSE  AND  CELLAR  COMBINED. 

and  south.  The  shutters  for  covering  the  glass  at  night 
should  be  made  of  light  half-inch  pine  boards,  three  feet 
wide  by  seven  feet  long. 

It  will  be  understood  that  the  advantage  of  this  com- 
bination of  cellar  and  greenhouse  over  the  ordinary  cold 
pit  is  that  the  air  of  the  greenhouse  is  warmed  or  equal- 
ized by  mixing  with  the  atmosphere  of  the  cellar,  which 
will  rarely  be  less  than  40°.  For  the  same  reason,  if  a 
high  temperature  by  fire  heat  were  wanted,  say  70°,  this 
large  body  of  air  from  below  of  40°  would  make  it  diffi- 
cult to  obtain  it.  It  will  be  necessary,  of  course,  to  have 
the  flooring  boards  covering  the  cellar  wide  enough  apart 
to  freely  allow  the  passage  of  the  air;  this  will  at  the  same 
time  give  light  enough  for  any  operations  necessary  to  be 
done  in  the  cellar. 


102  GAEDENING   FOE   PLEASUEE. 

CHAPTEE    XXXII. 

HOT-BEDS. 

The  sunken  pit  described  on  page  98  may  be  readily 
converted  into  a  hot-bed ;  all  that  is  necessary  to  do  be- 
ing .to  place  hot  manure  or  other  heating  material  in  the 
pit  and  tread  it  moderately  firm  with  the  feet.  The  ma- 
nure should  fill  the  pit  to  the  depth  of  two  feet,  and  then 
be  covered  with  five  or  six  inches  of  light  rich  soil,  on 
which  to  sow  the  seed.  This  sunken  pit  prevents  the 
escape  of  heat  from  the  manure  much  better  than  when 
the  hot-bed  is  made  on  the  surface  in  the  usual  way. 
The  preparation  of  the  heating  material  for  the  hot-bed 
requires  some  attention.  It  should  be  manure  fresh  from 
the  horse-stable,  and  when  they  can  be  procured,  it  is 
better  to  mix  it  with  about  an  equal  bulk  of  leaves  from 
the  woods.  If  the  weather  is  very  cold,  the  bulk  of  ma- 
nure must  be  of  good  size,  from  five  to  six  wagon  loads, 
thrown  in  a  compact  conical  heap,  else  the  mass  may  be 
so  chilled  that  fermentation  cannot  take  place  and  no 
heat  generated.  If  a  shed  is  convenient,  the  manure 
may  be  placed  there,  especially  if  the  quantity  is  small, 
to  be  protected  from  cold  until  the  heat  begins  to  rise. 
The  heap  should  be  turned  and  well  broken  up  before 
being  used  for  the  hot-beds,  so  that  the  rank  steam  may 
escape  and  the  manure  become  of  the  proper  "  sweet- 
ened "  condition  for  the  healthy  germination  of  the  seeds. 
After  the  manure  has  been  packed  in  the  pit  to  the  depth 
and  in  the  manner  described,  the  sashes  should  be  placed 
on  the  frame  and  kept  close  until  the  heat  is  again  gen- 
erated in  the  hot-bed.  Now  plunge  a  thermometer  into 
the  manure,  and  if  all  is  right  it  will  indicate  100  degrees 
or  more,  but  this  is  yet  too  hot  as  bottom  heat  for  the 
growth  of  seeds  or  plants,  and  a  few  days  of  delay  must 


HOT-BEDS.  103 

be  allowed  until  the  thermometer  indicates  a  falling  of 
10  or  15  degrees,  then  the  soil  may  be  placed  upon  the 
manure  and  the  seeds  sown,  or  plants  set  out  in  the  hot- 
bed. Amateurs  are  apt  to  be  impatient  in  the  matter  of 
hot-beds,  and  often  lose  their  first  crop  by  sowing  or 
planting  before  the  first  violent  heat  has  subsided.  An- 
other very  common  mistake  is,  in  beginning  too  early  in 
the  season.  In  this  latitude  nothing  is  gained  by  begin- 
ning before  the  first  week  in  March,  and  the  result  will 
be  very  nearly  as  good  if  not  begun  until  a  month  later. 
There  are  two  or  three  important  matters  to  bear  in 
mind  in  the  use  of  hot-beds.  It  is  indispensable  for 
safety  to  cover  the  glass  at  night  with  shutters  or  mats 
until  all  danger  of  frost  is  over,  for  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  contents  of  a  hot-bed  are  always  tender 
from  being  forced  so  rapidly  by  the  heat  below,  and  that 
the  slightest  frost  will  kill  them.  Again,  there  is  danger 
of  overheating  in  day-time  by  a  neglect  to  ventilate  when 
the  sun  is  shining.  As  a  general  rule  it  will  be  safe  in 
all  the  average  days  of  March,  April,  and  May,  to  have 
the  sash  in  the  hot-bed  tilted  up  from  an  inch  to  three 
inches  at  the  back  from  9  A.M.  to  4  P.M.  Much  will, 
of  course,  depend  upon  the  activity  of  the  heating  ma- 
terial in  the  hot-bed,  the  warmth  of  the  weather,  and  the 
character  of  the  plants  in  the  bed  ;  so  that  we  can  only 
give  a  loose  general  rule.  Numbers  of  our  amateur 
friends  come  to  us  every  season  lamenting  that  them- 
selves or  their  men  in  charge  had  omitted  to  ventilate 
their  hot-bed,  and  on  their  return  home  from  business  at 
night,  found  all  the  contents  had  been  "boiled"  up. 
Or  the  complaint  may  be  on  the  other  extreme,  that  the 
plants  are  frozen  through  neglect  to  cover  them  at  night. 
A  hot-bed  requires  a  certain  amount  of  attention,  which 
must  be  given  at  the  right  time,  or  failure  is  certain. 


104  GARDEtflKG  FOE   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

SHKUBS,    CLIMBERS,    AND   TREES. 

A  place  is  seldom  so  small  that  a  few  choice  shrubs 
cannot  appropriately  find  room,  and  in  which  climbers 
are  not  desirable,  while  in  the  larger  places  these  become 
important  to  its  proper  ornamentation.  Whether  its  size 
admits  of  the  use  of  trees  or  not,  both  deciduous  and 
evergreen  shrubs,  climbers  as  well  as  evergreen  trees  of 
low  growth,  are  indispensable.  "We  here  append  a  list  of 
the  leading  kinds  in  each  class,  but  which  by  no  means 
exhausts  the  number  of  desirable  varieties  ;  for  the  oth- 
ers reference  may  be  made  to  the  catalogues  of  the  prin- 
cipal nurseries,  where  also  will  be  found  descriptions  of 
those  here  named. 

HAKDT    DECIDUOUS     SHBUBS. 

Amygdalus  nanafl.  pi Flowering  Almond. 

jffisculusparviflora Dwarf  Horsechestnut. 

£erberis  vulgaris — Barberry. 

"  "      var.  purpurea Purple  Barberry. 

Calycanthus  floridus Sweet-scented  Shrub. 

Cldonanfhus  Virginica Fringe  Tree. 

CytisMA  elongatus Laburnum. 

Cotoneaster  microphyUa Small-leaved  Cotoneaster. 

Cratcegus  Pyracantha Pyracanth  Thorn. 

"         oxyacanthafl.  pi Hawthorn  double  white. 

"  "  coccineafl.pl «  «       Scarlet. 

Clethra  alnifolia White  Alder. 

Deutzia  scabra Rough  Deutzia. 

"       crenatafl.  pi Double      *' 

"      gracilis Slender      " 

Euonymus  atropurpureus Burning  Bush. 

"  latifolius Broad-leaved  do. 

Forsythia  viridissima Golden  Bell. 

Halesia  tetraptera Silver      " 

Hibiscus  Syriacusfl.  pi Rose  of  Sharon,  double. 

Hydrangea  panlculata  grandiflora Great-panicled  Hydrangea. 

"         Horiemia Common  " 

**         Japonica Japan  •• 

Eerria  Japonica Japan  Globe-flower. 

Lonicera  Tartarica Tartarian  Honeysuckle. 


SHRUBS,    CLIMBERS,    AND  TREES.  105 

Magnolia  glauca Sweet  Bay  Magnolia. 

"        conspicua Yulan  Tree. 

"         Soulangeana Soulanges'  Magnolia. 

PhUadelphus  coronarius Mock  Orange. 

44  nanus "        "        Dwarf. 

Ribes  aureum Missouri  Currant. 

"     Gordonianum Gordon's      " 

Syringa  vulgaris Common  Lilac. 

"       alba White          " 

ftrsica Persian        " 

"       alba "  «   White. 

Spiraea  prunifolia  fl.  pi Plum-leaved  Spiraea. 

callosa  and  var.  alba Flat-topped        " 

Reevesii  fl.  pi Lance-leaved     " 

Douglasii Douglas'  " 

hypericifolia St.  Peter's  Wreath. 

Viburnum  Opulus Snowball. 

"         plicatwn Dwarf  Snowball. 

Weigda  rosea Bush-Honeysuckle,  Rose. 

"        "   fol.var "  "        Variegated. 

««      nivea "  ««        White. 

"      amabalis "  "        Lovely. 

«*      Deboisianna ««  "        Debois'. 

Azalea  Dmtica,  hybrids Belgian  Azaleas. 

Cercis  Japonica Japan  Judas  Tree. 

Pyrus  Japonica Japan  Quince. 

Prunus  trUoba Flowering  Plum. 

Stuartia  pentagynia Stuartia. 

Symphoricarpus  racemosus Snowberry. 

HAEDT  EVEKGBEEN  SHEUBS. 

Andromeda  floribunda Free-flowering  Andomeda,. 

Buxus  sempervirens  arborea Tree-Box. 

Biota  orientalis Eastern  Arbor-Vitae. 

Cephalotaxus  Fortunii 

Daphne  Cneorum Garland  Flower. 

Ilex  opaca American  Holly. 

Juniperus  communis  var.  Swcica Sweedish  Juniper. 

"          <c    Sibernica Irish  " 

"        oblonga  pendula Weeping        " 

"       squamata Scaled  Juniper. 

"       prostrata Prostrate    " 

Kalvnm  latifolia American  Laurel. 

Podocarpus  Japonica Japan  Yew. 

Retinispora  dbtusa Obtuse-leaved  Retinispora. 

"          plumosa  aurea Golden-plumed        •• 

Rhododendron  Catawbiense,  hybrids Rhododrendons. 


106  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

Taxus  baccata,  var.  Canadensis American  Yew. 

"  "          "    erecta Upright        " 

Thuja  occidentalis American  Arbor-vitas. 

"  "      var.  Sihirica Siberian        "         " 

"  "       "    plicata Plicate          "         " 

"  "       "     nana Dwarf  "         " 

HARDY    EVERGREEN     TREES     OP     MEDIUM    SIZE. 

Abies  Canadensis Hemlock  Spruce. 

"  "         var.  Sargenti Sargent's      " 

tl     excelsa Norway        " 

•*         **     var.  Gregoryana Gregory's     " 

•'         "      "     pygmcea Dwarf  " 

"         "      "     inverta Inverted       " 

'*    nigra  pumila Dwarf  Black  Spruce. 

"    Fraseri  var.  Hudsonica Hudson's  Bay  Fir. 

«*    pectinata European  Silver  Fir. 

"  u     var.  fastigiata Erect  "        " 

"    PicMa Siberian       "        " 

Juniperus  Virginiana Red  Cedar. 

Plnus  Strobus White  Pine. 

"      Cembra Swiss  Stone  Pine. 

44     pumilio Dwarf  Pine. 

"      Austriaca Austrian  *' 

HABDT     CLIMBERS. 

Ampelopsis  quinquefolia Virginia  Creeper. 

"         tricuspidata,  (  VietchO) Vietch's        " 

Akebia  quinata Akebia. 

Aristolochia  SipTio Dutchman's  Pipe. 

jBignonia  grandiflora Large-flowered  Trumpet  vine 

Clematis  Flammula Virgin's  Bower. 

"       ViticeUa "  " 

"       azurea,  and  the  various  hybrids. 

Hedera  Helix European  Ivy. 

This  in  its  many  varieties  is  scarcely  hardy  at  New  York. 
Lonicera  sempervir&ns .•  Trumpet  Honeysuckle. 

"      Japonica Japan 

"  "      var.  aurea Golden  " 

"      Ftoidymenum English  Woodbine. 

"  « •  var.  Belgica Dutch  Honeysuckle. 

"      HaUii Hall's 

Tecoma  radicans Trumpet  Creeper. 

Wistaria  frutescens American  Wistaria. 

"      Sinensis Chinese  " 

••  "      var.  alba White  " 

"        "    Attenii Allen's  " 

"     magniflca. Magnificent     " 


HARDY   HERBACEOUS   PERENNIALS.  107 

CHAPTEK    XXXIY. 

HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PERENNIALS. 

Herbaceous  perennials  include  those  hardy  plants,  the 
stems  of  which  die  down  at  the  approach  of  winter,  or 
earlier  if  they  have  completed  their  growth ;  the  roots 
being  hardy,  they  remain  in  the  same  place  for  several 
years  in  succession.  Plants  of  this  class  were  formerly 
more  popular  than  they  have  been  of  late  years,  the  taste 
for  brilliant  bedding  effects  having  caused  these  former 
favorites  to  be  neglected.  Eecently  the  taste  for  peren- 
nials has  revived,  and  while  they  cannot  serve  as  substi- 
tutes for  what  are  known  as  bedding  plants,  they  are  ex- 
ceedingly useful  for  those  who  wish  to  have  flowers  with 
but  little  trouble,  as  most  of  them  can  remain  for  three 
or  four  years  without  requiring  any  other  care  than  to 
keep  them  clear  of  weeds.  "When  the  clumps  become  too 
large  they  require  to  be  lifted,  divided,  and  re-set  in  fresh 
soil.  For  the  best  results  it  is  advisable  to  re-set  most  of 
them  every  third  year,  while  some  may  remain  in  place 
indefinitely,  taking  care  to  give  them  a  yearly  manuring, 
as  the  vigorous  growing  ones  soon  exhaust  the  soil  imme- 
diately around  them.  In  setting  out  these  plants,  the 
taller  growing  kinds  should  be  placed  at  the  rear  of  the 
border,  or  in  the  center  if  the  bed  is  to  be  seen  from  both 
sides,  while  those  of  the  lowest  growth  are  to  be  placed 
at  the  edge,  and  those  of  intermediate  size  are  to  be 
placed  between.  A  proper  selection  of  these  plants  will 
give  a  succession  from  early  spring  until  frost  stops  all 
bloom.  Many  of  these  perennials  are  unchanged  from 
their  natural  state,  but  bloom  in  our  borders  just  as  they 
appeared  in  their  native  woods  and  hills  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  and  seem  to  show  no  disposition  to  "  break" 


108  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASUKE. 

or  deviate  from  their  normal  form,  notwithstanding  they 
have  heen  in  cultivation  for  a  century  or  two.  On  the 
other  hand  many  have,  by  sporting,  or  by  hybridizing, 
and  crossing,  as  in  the  case  of  paeonies,  phloxes,  irises, 
and  others,  produced  many  florists  varieties,  which  show 
forms  and  colors  not  found  in  the  native  state  of  the 
plants,  and  the  frequent  occurrence  of  double  flowers 
among  them  shows  that  cultivation  has  not  been  without 
its  influence. 

With  such  a  number  to  select  from,  it  is  difficult  to 
make  a  list  of  25,  or  even  50,  and  not  leave  out  many  de- 
sirable kinds.  Those  in  the  following  list  are  all  of  gen- 
erally admitted  excellence,  and  are  usually  to  be  obtained 
from  florists  and  nurserymen. 

It  may  be  added  here  that  there  is  no  part  of  the  coun- 
try which  does  not  afford  wild  flowers  of  sufficient  beauty 
to  merit  a  place  in  the  garden,  and  most  of  them,  except 
perhaps  those  which  naturally  grow  in  a  deep  shade,  will 
grow  larger  and  bloom  finer  in  a  rich  border  than  in  their 
native  localities. 

Perennials  are  propagated  by  division  of  the  clumps, 
by  cuttings  of  the  stems,  and  sometimes  of  the  roots, 
and  by  seeds.  In  many  cases  the  seeds  are  very  slow  of 
germination  unless  sown  as  soon  as  ripe.  As  most  of 
them  do  not  bloom  until  the  seedlings  have  made  one 
year's  growth,  the  seeds  should  be  sown  in  a  reserve  bed, 
from  which  at  the  end  of  the  first  summer,  or  in  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  they  may  be  transplanted  to  the  place 
where  they  are  to  flower.  It  is  well  to  give  the  seedlings 
some  protection  the  first  winter,  not  because  they  are  not 
hardy,  but  to  prevent  them  from  being  thrown  out  of  the 
soil  by  frequent  freezing  and  thawing.  A  covering  of 
evergreen  boughs  is  most  suitable,  but  if  these  are  not  at 
hand,  use  coarse  hay  or  other  litter,  first  laying  down 
some  brush,  to  keep  the  covering  from  matting  down 
upon  them. 


HARDY  HERBACEOUS  PERENNIALS.  109 

Aconitum  Napdlus Monkshood. 

"         variegatum Variegated  Monkshood. 

Anemone  Japonica Japan  Windflower. 

"       var.  Hanorine  Jobert White  Japan    " 

"       PulsatiUa Pasque  Flower. 

AquUegia  alpina Alpine  Columbine. 

"        coerulea Rocky  Mt.      " 

"       chrysantfia Golden-spurred  Columbine. 

•'        vulgaris Garden  " 

Astilbe  Japonica (Incorrectly  Spiraea.) 

Asperula  odorata Woodruff. 

Baptisia  australis False  Indigo. 

Campanula  Carpathica Carpathian  Harebell. 

"       persicifolia Peach-leaved    " 

"       grandiflora Great-flowered  a 

and  others. 

Cassia  Marilandica Wild  Senna. 

Clematis  erecta Upright  Clematis. 

"     integrifolia Entire-leaved  " 

Colchicum  aulumnale Meadow  Saffron. 

Convallaria  majalis Lily  of  the  Valley. 

Delphinium  elatum Bee  Larkspur. 

nudicaule Scarlet    " 

and  others. 

Dianthus  plumarius Garden  Pink. 

"       superbus Fringed    " 

Dicentra  eximia Plumy  Dicentra. 

"      spectabilis Bleeding  Heart. 

Dictamnus  Fraxinetta Fraxinella. 

Dodecatheon  Meadia Am.  Cowslip. 

ErantJiis  hiemalis Winter  Aconite. 

Erica  cornea Winter  Heath. 

FunkAa  ovata Blue  Day  Lily. 

"      Japonica Japan  u 

OypsopMa  paniculata Panicled  Gypsophila. 

Helleborus  ntyer Christmas  Rose. 

Sepatica  trttoba Liver-leaf. 

"  "fl.pl Double  do. 

Ilcris  Gibraltarica Gibraltar  Candytuft. 

44      sempervirens Perennial 

Iris  Oermanica German  Flower  de  Luce. 

«    Iberica Iberian        "        <l    " 

«    pumila Dwarf 

and  many  others  of  a  great  range  of  colors. 

Liatris  spicata Blazing  Star. 

"     squarrosa "          *' 

and  others. 


110  GAEDENLNG   FOE  PLEASUEB. 

IMium  auratum Gold-banded  Lily, 

this,  with  many  other  Japanese  species  in  the  catalogues,  is  perfectly 
hardy,  and  there  should  be  a  good  collection  of  them  in  every  garden. 

Linum  perenne Perennial  Flax. 

Lobelia  cardinalis Cardinal  Flower. 

This  native,  (also  its  hybrids),  does  perfectly  well  in  the  drier  soil  of 
the  garden. 

Lupinus  polyphyllus Many-leaved  Lupine. 

Lychnis  Chalcedonica Scarlet  Lychnis, 

and  several  others. 

Lysimachia  nummularia Moneywort. 

Mertensia  Virginica Virginia  Lungwort. 

Myosotis  palustris Forget-me-not. 

'         Azorica , Azorian  Forget-me-not. 

'        dissitiflora Early  "      "      " 

Narcissus  biftonts Primrose  Peerless. 

'          poeticus Poet's  Narcissus. 

1          Jonquttla Jonquil. 

*          Pseudo-narcissus Daffodil, 

in  double  and  single  varieties. 

(Enothera  Missouriensis Missouri  Evening  Primrose. 

Pceonia  offlcinalis Common  Paeony, 

and  the  various  hydrids  of  this  and  other  species,  of  which  there  are 
many  fine  named  sorts. 

Pceonia  tenuifcHia Fennel-leaved  Paeony. 

"        Moutan Tree  •« 

of  which  there  are  many  named  varieties. 

Papaver  orientale Oriental  Poppy. 

Pentstemon  grandiflorus Large-flowered  Pentstemon. 

"         barbatus  var.  Torreyi Torrey's  " 

"         Palmeri Palmer's  " 

and  several  other  hardy  species. 

Phlox,  herbaceous French  Lilac. 

Under  this  head  a  great  number  of  florists  named  varieties  may  be  had. 
New  ones  are  offered  every  year,  and  a  good  selection  of  colors  makes  a 
grand  show. 

Phlox  subulata Moss  Pink. 

Also  the  white  variety. 

Polemonium  reptans Jacob's  Ladder. 

"  cceruleum Greek  Valerian. 

Primula  veris Eng.  Cowslip. 

This  and  the  Polyanthus  varieties  need  a  moist  and  shady  place.  P. 
cortusoicles  is  hardy,  and  P.  Japonica  probably  so. 

Pyrethrum  carneum Rosy  Pyrethrum, 

the  new  double  varieties. 

Saxifraga  crassifolia Thick-leaved  Saxifrage. 

"         cordifdia Heart-leaved         " 


HAKDY  HEKBACEOUS   PERENNIALS.  Ill 

Sedum  acre Stone  crop. 

"     Sieboldii  (and  var.) Siebold's  Stone  crop. 

"     pulchellum Beautiful    "          " 

"     spectabik Showy         "          " 

and  a  large  number  of  others,  presenting  a  great  variety  in  foliage  and 
flowers. 

Sempervivum  arachn&ideum Cobweb  Houseleek. 

"  calearatum Purple-tipped  " 

"  tectorum Common  " 

Of  these  curious  plants  there  are  more  than  50  species  in  cultivation, 
and  all  perfectly  hardy  ;  useful  on  rock-work. 

Spiraea  Jttipendula,  (and  double) Drop  wort. 

"     palmata Palmate  Spiraea. 

"      Ulmaria Queen  of  the  Meadow. 

"     venusta Queen  of  the  Prairie. 

Symphytum  officinale  var Variegated  Comfrey. 

Thalictrum  minus Maiden-hair  Meadow  Rue. 

Tritoma  uvaria,  (and  vars.) Red-hot  Poker, 

needs  covering  in  winter  with  litter. 

Tunica  Saxifraga Rock  Tunica. 

Yucca  JUamentosa Bear-Grass. 

PERENNIAL     ORNAMENTAL  GRASSES. 

1.  Arundo  Donax Great  Reed. 

3.        "         "    versicolor Variegated  Reed. 

3.  "      conspicua Silvery  " 

4.  JEriaanthus  Ravenna Ravenna  grass. 

5.  Hkdalia  Japonica  var Japan  Eulalia. 

6.  Festuca  glauca. Blue  Fescue. 

7.  Gynerium  argenteum Pampas  grass. 

8.  Panicum  virgatum Wand-like  Panic. 

9.  PJidlaris  arund inacea  picta Ribbon  grass. 

10.  Stipapennata Feather  grass. 

In  the  climate  of  New  York,  Nos.  1,  2  and  7  need  protection ;  Nos. 
1  and  2  by  litter  over  the  roots,  and  No.  7  by  covering  it  with  a  cask  or 
box.  In  the  order  of  their  hight,  No.  6  is  6  inches,  9  and  10  a  foot,  5 
and  8,  3  to  4  feet,  and  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  7  from  6  to  12  feet,  according  to  the 
age  of  the  plants. 


112  GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 

ANNUAL    FLOWERING   PLANTS. 

To  make  a  selection  from  the  bewildering  number  of 
varieties  now  offered  in  our  seed  catalogues,  is  an  inter- 
esting, though  it  may  be  sometimes  rather  a  perplexing 
operation.  It  is  not  very  easy  to  give  specific  advice  in 
the  matter,  as  tastes  are  so  varied.  We  would  say,  in 
general  terms  though,  be  shy  of  "novelties"  until  you 
see  them  recommended  in  the  lists  the  second  year  ;  you 
may  then  know  that  their  merits  have  been  tested  and 
they  are  given  permanent  place.  We  have  been  import- 
ers of  all  such  "novelties"  for  over  twenty  years,  and 
think  ourselves  lucky  if  we  get  one  good  thing  for  every 
nineteen  worthless  ones  we  try.  Still,  to  get  the  good 
things,  all  that  are  offered  must  be  tried,  and  subjected 
to  the  sifting  process — separating  the  chaff  from  the 
wheat.  We  can  only  use  space  to  enumerate  a  few  gen- 
erally favorite  kinds,  which  we  give  in  the  list  below;  this 
comprises  such  as  are  of  easiest  cultivation,  and  are 
most  valued  for  the  beauty  or  fragrance  of  their  flowers. 

Asters,  Escholtzia,  Nasturtiums, 

Balsams,  Geraniums,  Nemophila, 

Candytufts,  Globe  Amaranths,  Pansy, 

Cannas,  Helichrysums,  Petunia, 

*Canary  Bird  Flower,  Ice  Plant,  Phlox  Drummondii, 

Carnations,  *Ipomaea,  Poppy, 

Clarkias,  Lobelia,  Portulaca, 

Cockscombs,  Lupines,  Scabiosa, 

Collinsia,  Lychnis,  Schizanthus, 

*Convolvulus,  Marigolds,  *Sweet  Peas, 

*Cypress  Vine,  Mignonnette,  Stocks, 

Delphiniums,  (Larkspur)  Mimosa,  (Sensitive-plant)  Zinnias, 
Dianthus, 

Those  Marked  *  are  climbers. 

I  have  used  the  popular  and  scientific  names  indis- 
criminately in  the  way  they  are  given  in  most  seed  cata- 


ANNUAL  FLOWERING   PLANTS.  113 

logues,  as  this  will  facilitate  reference  to  them  for 
descriptions.  The  rule  for  the  sowing  of  seeds  already 
given  in  the  chapter  "  Propagation  of  Plants  by  Seeds," 
applies  to  sowing  the  seeds  of  annuals  whether  in  the  hot- 
bed or  greenhouse,  to  obtain  plants  to  set  in  the  open 
border,  or  sowing  at  once  in  the  open  border.  The  cov- 
ering of  the  seeds  should  in  every  case  be  of  a  light  ma- 
terial. Thus,  if  the  soil  of  your  flower-garden  is  hard 
and  rough,  be  sure  that  the  surface  on  which  the  delicate 
seeds  are  to  be  sown  is  made  smooth  and  level,  and  that 
it  is  covered  with  a  fine  light  soil,  such  as  leaf-mold,  in 
the  manner  described  in  the  chapter  referred  to.  Proba- 
bly three-fourths  of  all  the  flower-seeds  that  are  sown  by 
amateurs  never  germinate,  and  for  no  other  reason  than 
that  they  have  not  been  properly  treated.  One  sows  a 
tropical  seed,  such  as  Portulaca,  in  March,  and  wonders 
that  it  does  not  start  to  grow;  by  May,  the  time  it  should 
be  sown  in  the  ground,  the  spot  has  become  covered  with 
weeds,  and  the  tiny  plant,  if  it  comes  now  at  all,  is 
choked  and  killed.  Another  reverses  the  order  and 
wonders  that  the  hardy  Pansy  seeds  which  are  sown  in 
June,  fail  to  grow,  or  if  they  grow,  fail  to  bloom  in  the 
dog  days.  Our  seed  catalogues  are  nearly  all  defective  in 
not  giving  more  specific  directions  for  the  culture  of  an- 
nual plants  ;  if  the  space  used  for  description  of  form  and 
color  was  devoted  to  telling  the  time  and  manner  of  sow- 
ing, it  would  be  of  far  more  benefit  to  the  amateur  buyer, 
but  nearly  all  follow  the  English  practice  of  giving  de- 
scriptions of  varieties  only.  There  the  necessity  for  such 
information  is  less,  the  people  being  better  informed  as  to 
flower  culture,  and  the  climate  is  also  more  congenial  for 
germination  of  most  seeds. 


114  GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XXXYL 

FLOWERS   WHICH    WILL    GROW   IN   THE    SHADE. 

There  are  few  plants  that  will  flower  in  places  from 
which  sunshine  is  entirely  excluded.  Some  plants  will 
grow  well  enough,  developing  shoots  and  leaves,  but 
flowers  of  nearly  all  kinds  must  have  some  sunshine.  Of 
those  that  do  well  and  flower  when  planted  out  in  the 
open  ground  where  sunlight  only  comes  for  two  or  three 
hours  during  the  day,  may  be  named  the  following : 
Calceolarias,  Fuchsias,  Lobelias,  Herbaceous  Phloxes, 
Pansies,  Forget-me-nots,  Lily  of  the  Valley,  and  other 
herbaceous  plants  and  shrubs  whose  native  habitat  is 
shady  woods.  Perhaps  a  better  effect  is  produced  in 
such  situations  by  ornamental  leaved  plants,  such  as  Co- 
leuses  of  all  kinds,  Amaranths,  Achyranthes,  Caladi- 
ums,  Cannas,  and  other  plants  with  high  colored  or  orna- 
mental leaves.  With  these  may  be  combined  the  differ- 
ent styles  of  white  or  gray-leaved  plants,  such  as  Centau- 
reas,  Cinerarias,  Gnaphaliums — plants  known  under  the 
general  popular  term  of  "  Dusty  Millers."  For  our  own 
part  we  much  prefer  to  devote  shaded  situations  to  such 
plants,  rather  than  to  see  the  abortive  attempts  to  produce 
flowers  made  by  plants  in  positions  where  there  is  no  sun- 
shine. It  may  be  here  remarked  that  the  cultivator  of 
plants  in  rooms  should  understand  the  necessity  of  sun- 
light to  plants  that  are  to  flower,  and  endeavor  to  get 
them  as  near  as  possible  to  a  window  having  an  eastern  or 
a  southern  aspect.  The  higher  the  temperature,  the  more 
plants  suffer  for  the  want  of  light.  Many  plants,  such 
as  Geraniums,  Fuchsias,  or  Roses,  might  remain  in  a 
temperature  of  40  degrees,  in  a  cellar  for  example,  away 
from  direct  light  for  months  without  material  injury, 
while  if  the  cellar  contained  a  furnace  keeping  up  a  tern- 


INSECTS.  115 

perature  of  70  degrees,  they  would  all  die  before  the  win- 
ter was  ended,  particularly  if  the  plants  were  of  a  half 
hardy  nature.  If  tropical  species,  they  might  stand  it 
hotter,  but  all  plants  quickly  become  enfeebled  when 
kept  at  high  temperature  and  away  from  the  light. 


CHAPTER    XXXVH. 

INSECTS. 

When  insects  attack  plants  in  the  greenhouse,  parlor, 
or  anywhere  under  cover,  we  can  generally  manage  to 
get  them  under  control,  but  when  they  attack  plants  in 
the  open  air,  it  is  according  to  our  experience,  difficult 
to  destroy  them.  Insects  are  injurious  to  plants  in  the 
open  air  in  two  principal  ways  :  some  attack  the  branches 
and  leaves,  and  others  infest  the  roots.  When  insects 
attack  the  roots  of  a  plant,  we  have  been  able  to  do  but 
little  to  stop  their  ravages.  We  can  manage  somewhat 
better  with  those  attacking  the  leaves,  but  even  this  di- 
vision of  the  enemy  is  often  too  much  for  us.  As  a  pre- 
ventive, we  would  strongly  advise  that  birds  of  all  kinds 
should  be  encouraged.  Since  the  European  sparrows 
have  favored  us  with  their  presence  in  such  numbers,  in- 
sects of  nearly  all  kinds  have  much  decreased.  Most 
people  will  remember  the  disgusting  "  measuring  worm  " 
that  festooned  the  shade-trees  in  New  York,  Brooklyn, 
and  other  cities  ten  years  ago  ;  these  made  their  exit  al- 
most in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  sparrows,  and  now 
hardly  one  is  to  be  seen.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Rose 
slug.  In  my  rose  grounds,  a  few  years  ago,  we  were 
obliged  to  employ  a  number  of  boys  for  weeks  during  the 
summer  to  shake  off  and  kill  the  Rose  slug  in  order  to 


116  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

keep  the  plants  alive,  but  since  we  have  had  the  sparrows 
in  snch  numbers,  hardly  one  of  these  pests  is  now  seen. 
An  examination  of  the  crop  of  a  sparrow  killed  in  July, 
showed  that  it  contained  Eose  slugs,  Aphis,  or  green-fly, 
and  the  seeds  of  chickweed  and  other  plants,  proving 
beyond  question  the  fact  that  they  are  promiscuous  feed- 
ers. The  Eose  slug,  (Selandria  TOSCB),  referred  to  above, 
is  a  light  green,  soft  insect,  varying  from  1\19  of  an  inch 
to  nearly  an  inch  in  length.  There  are  apparently  two 
species  or  varieties,  one  of  which  eats  only  the  cuticle  of 
the  lower  side  of  the  leaf,  the  other  eats  it  entire.  The 
first  is  by  far  the  most  destructive  here.  In  a  few  days 
after  the  plants  are  attacked  they  appear  as  if  they  had 
been  burned.  An  excellent  application  for  the  prevention 
of  the  ravages  of  the  Eose  slug  is  whale-oil  soap  dissolved 
in  the  proportion  of  one  Ib.  to  eight  gallons  of  water,  this, 
if  steadily  applied  daily  for  a  week  with  a  syringe  on  Eose 
plants,  before  the  leaf  has  developed  in  spring,  will  en- 
tirely prevent  the  attacks  of  the  insect.  But  we  find 
that  if  the  slug  once  gets  fairly  at  work,  this  remedy  is 
powerless  unless  used  so  strong  as  to  injure  the  leaves. 

The  Eose-Bug,  (Macrodactylus  sulspinosus),  or  Eose 
Chaffer,  gets  its  name  from  the  preference  it  shows  for 
the  buds  and  blossoms  of  the  Eose,  though  it  is  equally 
destructive  to  the  Dahlia,  Aster,  Balsam,  and  many 
other  flowers,  and  especially  grape  blossoms.  All  the  or- 
dinary remedies  seem  to  fail  with  the  Eose-bug,  and  it 
can  only  be  stopped  by  picking  it  off  by  hand. 

Green-Fly,  or  Aphis,  is  one  of  the  most  common,  but 
fortunately  most  easily  destroyed,  of  any  insect  that  in- 
fests plants,  either  in-doors  or  out.  In  our  greenhouses,  as 
already  stated,  we  fumigate  twice  a  week,  by  burning 
about  half  a  pound  of  refuse  tobacco  stems,  (made 
damp),  to  every  500  square  feet  of  glass  surface,  but  in 
private  greenhouses  or  on  plants  in  rooms,  fumigating  is 
often  impracticable.  Then  the  tobacco  stems  can  be 


INSECTS.  117 

« 

used  by  steeping  one  pound  in  five  gallons  of  water,  un- 
til the  water  gets  to  be  the  color  of  strong  tea.  This 
liquid  applied  over  and  under  the  leaves  with  a  syringe, 
will  destroy  the  insect  quite  as  well  as  by  fumigating, 
only  in  either  case  the  application  should  be  made  before 
the  insects  are  seen,  to  prevent  their  coming  rather  than 
to  destroy  them  when  established ;  for  often  by  neglect 
they  get  a  foothold  in  such  legions  that  all  remedies  be- 
come ineffectual  to  dislodge  them.  Another  means  of 
preventing  the  green-fly  is  to  apply  tobacco  in  the  shape 
of  dust.  The  sweepings  of  tobacco  warehouses,  which 
can  be  found  for  sale  in  most  seed  or  agricultural 
establishments,  at  a  cost  of  five  to  ten  cents  per 
pound.  This  applied  once  or  twice  a  week  to  an  ordinary 
sized  private  greenhouse,  would  effectually  prevent  any 
injury  from  green-fly.  No  special  quantity  of  this  need 
be  prescribed,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  see  that  it  is  so 
dusted  on  that  it  reaches  all  parts  of  the  plant  and  on 
both  sides  of  the  leaves.  It  is  best  to  slightly  syringe 
the  plants  beforehand,  so  that  the  dust  will  adhere  to  the 
leaves.  When  applied  to  plants  out-doors,  it  should  be 
done  in  the  morning  when  the  dew  is  on.  Fruit-trees 
of  many  kinds,  shrubs,  and  Eoses  of  all  kinds,  out  of 
doors,  are  particularly  liable  to  injury  from  some  species 
of  Aphis,  but  the  application  of  tobacco  dust,  if  made  in 
time,  will  be  found  a  cheap  and  effectual  remedy. 

Ground  or  Blue  Aphis,  is  a  close  relative  of  the  pre- 
ceeding,  but  it  gets  its  living  from  the  roots  down  in  the 
soil,  while  the  Green  Aphis  feeds  in  the  air  on  the  leaves. 
The  Blue  Aphis  attacks  a  great  many  varieties  of  plants, 
particularly  in  hot,  dry  weather,  and  whenever  Asters, 
Verbenas,  Petunias,  Centaureas,  or  such  plants  begin  to 
droop,  it  will  be  found  on  examination,  in  three  cases  out 
of  four,  that  the  farthest  extremities  of  their  roots  are 
completely  surrounded  by  the  Blue  Aphis.  The  only 
remedy  we  have  ever  found  for  this  pest  is  a  strong  de- 


118  GARDENING  FOE   PLEASURE. 

coction  of  tobacco,  made  so  strong  as  to  resemble  strong 
coffee  in  color.  The  earth  around  the  plants  must  be 
soaked  with  this  so  that  the  lowest  roots  will  be  reached. 
The  tobacco  water  will  not  hurt  the  plants,  but  will  be 
fatal  to  the  insect,  and  if  it  has  not  already  damaged  the 
roots  to  too  great  an  extent,  may  prove  a  remedy. 

Ants. — These  are  not  usually  troublesome  unless  in 
great  numbers,  yet  when  they  appear  in  strong  force  they 
are  often  yery  destructive.  About  the  simplest  method 
we  have  found  to  get  rid  of  them,  is  to  lay  fresh  bones 
around  the  infested  plants  ;  they  will  leave  everything 
to  feed  on  these,  and  when  thus  accumulated  may  be 
easily  destroyed. 

The  Red  Spider  is  one  of  the  most  insidious  enemies 
of  plants,  both  when  under  glass  and  in  the  open  air  in 
summer.  It  luxuriates  in  a  hot  and  dry  atmosphere, 
and  the  only  remedy  that  I  can  safely  recommend  to  am- 
ateurs, is  copious  syringings  with  water,  if  in  the  green- 
house, so  that  a  moist  atmosphere  can  be  obtained.  This, 
of  course,  is  not  practicable  when  plants  are  grown  in 
rooms,  and  the  only  thing  that  can  then  be  done  is  to 
sponge  off  the  leaves.  It  is  this  insect,  more  than  any 
thing  else,  that  makes  it  so  difficult  to  grow  plants  in  the 
dry  air  of  the  sitting-room,  as  it  may  be  sapping  the 
life  blood  from  a  plant,  and  its  owner  never  discover  the 
cause  of  his  trouble.  It  is  so  minute  as  hardly  to  be 
seen  by  the  naked  eye,  but  its  ravages  soon  show,  and  if 
the  leaves  of  your  plants  begin  to  get  brown,  an  exami- 
nation of  the  under-surface  of  the  leaf  will  usually  reveal 
the  little  pests  in  great  numbers.  When  they  get  thus 
established  there  is  no  remedy  but  to  sponge  the  leaves 
thoroughly  with  water,  or  weak  soapsuds. 

The  Mealy  Bug,  as  it  is  generally  called,  is  a  white 
mealy  or  downy-looking  insect,  which  is  often  very  trou- 
blesome among  hot-house  plants,  but  rarely  does  any 
harm  amongst  those  that  can  live  in  a  cool  room,  as  no 


INSECTS.  119 

doubt  it  is  a  native  of  some  tropical  country,  and  can 
only  exist  in  such  a  temperature  as  is  required  by  plants 
of  that  kind.  There  are  various  remedies  used  by  floristc, 
but  the  use  of  nearly  all  of  them  might  do  more  harm 
than  good  in  inexperienced  hands,  and  I  therefore  advise 
that  they  should  only  be  destroyed  by  being  washed  off 
such  plants  as  Gardenias,  or  rubbed  off  of  more  tender 
leaved  plants  with  a  soft  brush  ;  or  where  there  are  but 
few,  they  may  be  readily  picked  off  by  the  use  of  a  quill 
sharpened  like  a  toothpick. 

Brown  and  WJiite  Scale  Insects. — These  appear  life- 
less, and  adhere  closely  to  the  stems  of  such  plants  as 
Oleanders,  Ivies,  etc. ,  and  like  the  Mealy  Bug  are  best 
destroyed  by  being  washed  or  rubbed  off. 

Tlirips. — This  is  an  insect  varying  in  color  from  light 
yellow  to  dark  brown,  and  much  more  active  in  its  move- 
ments than  the  Green-Ply,  and  more  difficult  to  destroy ; 
when  it  once  gets  a  foothold  it  is  very  destructive.  It 
succumbs  to  tobacco,  in  any  of  the  forms  recommended 
for  the  destruction  of  Green-Ply,  but  not  so  readily.  It 
luxuriates  in  shaded  situations,  and  generally  abounds 
where  plants  are  standing  too  thickly  together,  or  where 
ventilation  or  light  is  deficient.  It  may  be  safely  as- 
serted that  in  any  well  regulated  place  where  plants 
are  kept,  no  injury  from  insects  will  ever  become  serious 
if  due  attention  has  been  given  to  keeping  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  place  moist,  and  using  tobacco  freely  in  any 
of  the  forms  we  have  recommended. 

The  Angle  Worm. — This  is  the  common  worm  seen 
in  every  soil  in  pots  and  in  the  open  ground.  It  is 
harmless  so  far  as  feeding  goes,  for  it  seems  never  to 
touch  plants  as  food,  but  it  bores  and  crawls  around  in 
a  way  by  no  means  beneficial  to  pot-grown  plants ;  it  is, 
however,  easily  dislodged  ;  by  slaking  a  quart  of  lime 
and  adding  water  to  make  up  ten  gallons  of  the  liquid, 
and  watering  the  plants  with  it  after  it  has  become 


120  GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 

clear,  tiie  caustic   qualities  of   tlie  lime  will  be   quickly 
fatal  to  the  worm. 


CHAPTER    XXXYIIL 

MILDEW. 

Mildew  is  a  parasitical  fungus,  often  seen  on  greenhouse 
and  other  plants,  and  is  quickly  destructive  to  their  health. 
But  as  with  all  other  plant  troubles,  it  is  best  to  prevent 
rather  than  cure.  Care  should  be  taken,  particularly 
where  roses  or  grape  vines  are  grown  under  glass,  as  both 
of  these  are  especially  liable  to  be  attacked,  to  avoid  a 
rapid  change  of  temperature,  or  a  long  exposure  to  sud- 
den chill  by  draughts  in  ventilating.  As  soon  as  spots 
of  grayish-white  appear  on  the  leaves  of  roses  or  grape- 
vines, either  out-doors  or  under  glass,  it  is  certain  that 
mildew  is  present,  but  if  it  has  not  been  neglected  too 
long,  the  following  preparation  will  usually  be  found  a 
prompt  remedy.  Take  three  pounds  each  of  flowers  of  sul- 
phur and  quick-lime,  put  together  and  slake  the  lime,  and 
add  six  gallons  of  water  ;  boil  all  together  until  it  is  re- 
duced to  two  gallons,  allow  the  liquid  to  settle  until  it 
gets  clear,  then  bottle  for  use.  One  gill  only  of  this  is 
to  be  mixed  in  five  gallons  of  water,  and  syringed  over 
the  plants  in  the  evening,  taking  care  not  to  use  it  on  the 
fruit  when  ripe,  as  it  would  communicate  a  taste  and 
smell  which  would  render  it  useless.  Applied  in  this 
weak  state,  it  does  not  injure  the  leaves,  and  yet  has  the 
power  to  destroy  the  low  form  of  vegetable  growth,  which 
we  call  mildew.  "We  apply  it  just  as  we  do  tobacco,  once 
or  twice  a  week,  as  a  preventive,  and  we  rarely  have  a 
speck  of  mildew. 


FROZEN"   PLANTS.  121 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

FROZEN   PLANTS. 

"When  by  any  mishap  the  plants,  whether  in  parlor  or 
greenhouse,  become  frozen,  either  at  once  remove  them, 
(taking  care  not  to  touch  the  leaves),  to  some  place  warm 
enough  to  be  just  above  the  point  of  freezing  ;  if  there 
are  too  many  to  do  that,  get  up  the  fire  as  rapidly  as 
possible  and  raise  the  temperature.  The  usual  advice  is 
to  sprinkle  the  leaves  and  shade  the  plants  from  the  sun. 
We  have  never  found  either  remedy  of  any  avail  with 
frozen  plants,  and  the  sprinkling  is  often  a  serious  in- 
jury if  done  before  the  temperature  is  above  the  freezing 
point.  In  our  experience  with  thousands  of  frozen  plants, 
we  have  tried  all  manner  of  expedients,  and  found  no 
better  method  than  to  get  them  out  of  the  freezing  at* 
mosphere  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  we  have  also  found 
that  the  damage  is  in  proportion  to  the  succulent  condi- 
tion of  the  plant,  and  the  intensity  of  the  freezing.  Just 
what  degree  of  cold  plants  in  any  given  condition  can  en- 
dure without  injury,  we  are  unable  to  state.  Plants  are 
often  frozen  so  that  the  leaves  hang  down,  but  when 
thawed  out  are  found  to  be  not  at  all  injured  ;  at  another 
time  the  same  low  temperature  acting  on  the  same  kind 
of  plants  may  kill  them  outright  if  they  happen  to  be 
growing  more  thriftily,  and  are  full  of  sap.  When  the 
frost  is  penetrating  into  a  greenhouse  or  room  in  which 
plants  are  kept,  and  the  heating  arrangements  are  inade- 
quate to  keep  it  out,  the  best  thing  to  do  is  to  cover  the 
plants  with  paper,  (newspapers),  or  sheeting  ;  thus  pro- 
tected, most  plants  will  be  enabled  to  resist  four  or  five 
degrees  of  frost ;  paper  is  rather  better  than  sheeting  for 
this  purpose. 
6 


122  GARDENING   FOR    PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XL. 

MULCHING. 

Litter  of  any  kind  placed  around  newly  planted  trees 
to  prevent  evaporation  from  the  soil,  was  the  original 
meaning  of  mulch,  but'  it  is  at  present  extended  to  in- 
clude a  covering  of  the  soil  applied  at  any  time,  and  for 
very  different  purposes.  Good  cultivators  apply  hay, 
straw,  or  other  litter  to  the  surface  of  the  soil  to  protect 
the  roots  of  certain  plants  against  the  action  of  frost,  it 
being  useful,  not  so  much  against  freezing  as  to  prevent 
the  alternate  freezing  and  thawing,  that  is  apt  to  occur 
in  our  variable  and  uncertain  climate,  even  in  mid-win- 
ter. As  mentioned  under  strawberry  culture,  the  mulch 
applied  in  the  fall  protects  the  roots  during  winter,  it  is 
allowed  to  remain  on  the  bed  where,  if  thick  enough,  it 
keeps  down  weeds,  and  prevents  the  evaporation  of  mois- 
ture from  the  soil  during  the  dry  time  we  are  apt  to  have 
between  the  flowering  and  the  ripening  of  the  strawberry. 
Besides  all  this,  it  makes  a  clean  bed  for  the  fruit  to  rest 
upon,  and  should  a  driving  shower  come  up  as  the  fruit 
is  ripening,  there  is  no  danger  that  the  berries  will  be 
splashed  with  mud  and  spoiled.  The  utility  of  a  mulch 
is  not  confined  to  the  strawberry  among  fruits  ;  raspber- 
ries and  currants  are  much  benefitted  by  it,  and  by  its 
use  a  gardener  of  my  acquaintance  succeeds  in  growing 
fine  crops  of  the  fine  varieties  of  English  gooseberries,  a 
fruit  with  which  very  few  succeed  in  our  hot  summers. 
Newly  planted  trees,  whether  of  fruit  or  ornamental 
kinds,  are  much  benefitted  by  a  mulch,  and  its  applica- 
tion often  settles  the  question  of  success  or  failure.  We 
have  known  a  whole  pear  orchard  to  be  mulched,  and  the 
owner  thought  its  cost  was  more  than  repaid  by  saving 


MULCHING.  123 

the  fallen  fruit  from  bruises.  The  rooting  of  a  layer  is 
by  some  gardeners  thought  to  be  facilitated  by  placing  a 
flat  stone  over  the  buried  branch  ;  the  fact  being  that 
the  stone  acts  as  a  mulch,  and  prevents  the  soil  around 
the  cut  portion  from  drying  out,  and  greatly  favors  the 
rooting  process.  Even  in  the  vegetable  garden,  mulch- 
ing is  found  useful,  especially  with  cauliflowers,  which 
find  our  summers  quite  too  dry.  The  material  of  the 
mulch  is  not  of  much  importance,  the  effect  being  purely 
mechanical,  one  kind  of  litter  will  answer  as  well  as  an- 
other ;  the  material  will  be  governed  in  great  measure  by 
locality ;  those  living  near  salt  water  will  find  salt-hay, 
as  hay  from  the  marshes  is  called,  the  most  readily  pro- 
cured ;  those  who  live  near  pine  forests  use  the  fallen 
leaves,  or  pine  needles  as  they  are  called  ;  in  the  grain 
growing  districts  straw  is  abundant,  and  nothing  can  be 
better  ;  it  can  be  applied  more  thoroughly  if  run  through 
a  cutter,  though  the  thrashing  machine  often  makes  it 
short  enough.  Leaves  are  nature's  own  mulch,  and  an- 
swer admirably ;  if  there  is  danger  of  their  being  blown 
away,  brush  laid  over  them,  or  even  a  little  earth  sprink- 
led on  them  will  keep  them  in  place.  Tan-bark  and  saw- 
dust may  serve  for  some  uses,  but  they  are  very  bad  for 
strawberries,  their  finer  particles  being  about  as  objec- 
tionable as  the  soil.  One  of  the  best  materials  to  use  for 
summer  mulching  is  the  green  grass  mowed  from  lawns. 
This  applied  to  the  thickness  of  two  or  three  inches 
around  the  roots  of  all  kinds  of  small  fruits,  will  be 
found  not  only  to  greatly  benefit  the  crop,  particularly  in 
dry  weather,  but  will  save  greatly  in  labor  by  preventing 
the  growth  of  weeds.  One  of  our  best  private  gardeners 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  York  has  adopted  this  summer 
mulching  with  the  grass  from  the  lawn  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  and  has  succeeded  in  growing  all  kinds  of  small 
fruits  in  the  highest  degree  of  perfection. 


124  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XLL 

ARE    PLANTS   IN   ROOMS   INJURIOUS    TO    HEALTH? 

The  question  whether  plants  may  be  safely  grown 
in  living  rooms  is  now  settled  by  scientific  men,  who 
show  that  whatever  deleterious  gases  may  be  given 
out  by  plants  at  night  they  are  so  minute  in  quantity 
that  no  injury  is  ever  done  by  their  presence  in  the 
rooms  and  by  being  inhaled.  Though  we  were  glad 
to  see  the  question  disposed  of  by  such  authority,  ex- 
perience had  already  shown  that  no  bad  effects  ever 
resulted  from  living  in  apartments  where  plants  were 
grown.  Our  greenhouses  are  one  mass  of  foliage,  and  I 
much  doubt  if  any  healthier  class  of  men  can  be  found 
than  those  engaged  in  the  care  of  plants.  But  timid  per- 
sons may  say  that  the  deleterious  gases  are  given  out  only 
at  night,  while  our  greenhouse  operatives  are  only  em- 
ployed in  daylight.  This  is  only  true  in  part.  Our 
watchmen  and  men  engaged  in  attending  to  fires  at 
night  make  the  warm  greenhouses  their  sitting-room  and 
their  sleeping-room,  and  I  have  yet  to  hear  of  the  first 
instance  where  the  slightest  injury  resulted  from  this 
practice.  Many  of  our  medical  practitioners  run  in  old 
ruts.  Some  Solomon  among  them  probably  gave  out  this 
dogma  a  century  ago,  it  was  made  the  convenient  scape- 
goat of  some  other  cause  of  sickness,  and  the  rank  and 
file  have  followed  in  his  train.  A  belief  in  this  error 
often  consigns  to  the  cellar,  or  to  the  cold  winds  of  win- 
ter, the  treasured  floral  pets  of  a  household. 


SHADING.  125 

CHAPTER    XUI. 

SHADING. 

In  mulching  the  object  is  to  prevent  evaporation  from 
the  soil,  as  well  as  to  shield  the  roots  from  sudden 
changes  of  temperature  ;  it  is  often  necessary  to  protect 
the  whole  plant  in  this  respect,  and  this  is-  accomplished 
by  shading.  Although  on  a  large  scale,  we  can  do  little 
in  the  way  of  shading  plants  in  the  open  ground,  yet  the 
amateur  will  often  find  it  of  great  utility,  as  screening 
will  frequently  save  a  recently  transplanted  plant,  which 
without  it  would  be  quite  ruined  by  a  few  hours'  exposure 
to  the  sun.  For  shading  small  plants  in  the  border,  such 
as  transplanted  annuals,  a  few  shingles  will  be  found  very 
useful,  one  or  two  of  these  can  be  stuck  in  the  ground  so 
as  to  completely  protect  the  delicate  plant  and  yet  not 
deprive  it  of  air.  Six-inch  boards  of  half-inch  stuff 
nailed  together  to  form  a  V  shaped  trough  are  very  use- 
ful in  the  garden ;  they  are  handy  to  place  over  small 
plants  during  cold  nights,  and  may  be  turned  over  and 
set  to  make  a  screen  against  strong  winds,  or  used  for 
shading  plants  in  rows.  Seedlings  often  suffer  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun  in  the  middle  of  the  day  ;  the  seedlings 
of  even  the  hardiest  forest  trees  are  very  delicate  when 
young.  The  seeds  of  such  trees  when  sown  naturally  al- 
most always  fall  where  the  young  plant  will  be  shaded, 
and  the  amateur  who  experiments  in  this  very  interesting 
branch  of  horticulture,  the  raising  of  evergreen  and  de- 
ciduous trees  and  shrubs  from  seed,  will  find  it  necessary 
to  imitate  nature  and  protect  his  young  seedlings  from 
the  intense  heat  of  the  sun.  There  are  several  ways  of 
doing  this  ;  if  the  seeds  have  been  sown  in  an  open  bor- 
der, let  him  take  twigs  about  a  foot  long,  evergreen  if 


126  GARDENING   FOR  PLEASURE. 

they  can  be  had,  but  if  not,  those  from  any  deciduous 
tree,  and  stick  them  a  few  inches  apart  all  over  the  bed. 
This  will  give  the  seedlings  very  much  such  a  protection 
as  they  would  naturally  have  had  in  the  shade  of  other 
plants,  and  though  evergreens  will  look  better  for  a  while, 
the  dead  leaves  of  deciduous  twigs  will  give  quite  as  use- 
ful a  shade.  It  is  always  safer  to  sow  seeds  in  a  frame, 
as  the  young  plants  are  then  under  more  complete  con- 
trol. Frames  are  easily  shaded  by  means  of  a  lattice 
made  of  common  laths.  Strips  of  inch  stuff  an  inch  and 
a  half  or  two  inches  wide,  are  used  for  the  sides  of  the 
lattice,  and  laths  are  nailed  across  as  far  apart  as  their 
own  width.  One  lath  being  nailed  on,  another  is  laid 
down  to  mark  the  distance,  the  third  one  put  down  and 
nailed,  and  the  second  lath  is  moved  along  to  mark  the 
distance  for  the  fourth,  and  so  on.  With  a  screen  of  this 
kind  there  is  abundant  light,  but  the  sun  does  not  shine 
long  at  a  time  on  one  spot,  and  the  plants  have  a  con- 
stantly changing  sun  and  shade.  This  lath  screen  may 
be  used  for  shading  plants  in  the  open  ground  if  sup- 
ported at  a  proper  hight  above  them.  In  a  propagating 
house,  where  it  is  necessary,  as  it  often  is,  to  shade  cut- 
tings, a  lattice  laid  upon  the  outside  of  the  glass  answers 
a  good  purpose.  The  laths  are  sometimes  tied  together 
with  strong  twine,  the  cord  answering  the  place  of  slats, 
and  serving  as  a  warp  with  which  the  laths  are  woven ; 
the  advantage  of  a  screen  of  this  kind  is  that  it  can  bo 
rolled  up.  Plants  kept  in  windows  during  the  summer 
months  will,  if  in  a  sunny  exposure,  require  some  kind 
of  a  shade,  and  if  the  one  provided  to  keep  the  sun  from 
the  room  shuts  out  too  much  light,  or  excludes  air  as 
well  as  sun,  something  must  be  provided  which  will  give 
protection  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  still  allow 
sufficient  light  and  an  abundant  circulation  of  air.  Any 
one  with  ingenuity  can  arrange  a  screen  of  white  cotton 
cloth  to  answer  the  purpose. 


SHADING.  127 

The  old  practice  of  stripping  the  greenhouse  in  sum- 
mer is  falling  into  disuse,  and  by  a  proper  selection  of 
plants  and  sufficient  shade,  it  is  made  as  attractive  then 
as  at  any  other  season,  but  even  for  tropical  plants  the 
glass  must  be  shaded.  For  a  small  lean-to,  a  screen  of 
light  canvass  or  muslin  arranged  upon  the  outside,  so 
that  it  may  be  wound  up  on  a  roller  when  not  wanted 
will  answer,  and  if  it  be  desired  to  keep  the  house  as  cool 
as  possible,  this  should  be  so  contrived  that  there  will  be 
a  space  of  six  inches  or  so  between  that  and  the  glass. 
But  upon  a  large  house,  or  one  with  a  curvilinear  roof, 
this  is  not  so  manageable,  and  the  usual  method  is  to  coat 
the  glass  with  some  material  which  will  obstruct  a  part 
of  the  light.  The  most  common  method  is  to  give  the 
outside  of  the  glass  a  coat  of  ordinary  lime  whitewash  ; 
this  makes  a  sufficient  shade,  and  is  gradually  dissolved 
by  the  rains,  so  that  by  autumn  the  coating  is  removed, 
or  so  nearly  so  that  what  remains  may  be  readily  washed 
off.  A  more  pleasant  effect  is  produced  by  spattering  the 
glass  with  the  same  wash,  which  can  be  done  by  a  dex- 
terous use  of  the  brush  and  flirting  it  so  as  to  leave  the 
wash  in  numerous  fine  drops,  like  rain-drops.  Others 
use  whiting  and  milk  for  the  same  purpose.  Whatever 
may  be  the  means  of  effecting  it,  we  find  that  in  this  lat- 
itude shading  of  some  kind  is  required  from  about  the  1st 
of  May  to  the  middle  of  September  by  nearly  all  plants 
grown  under  glass.  Ferns,  Lycopods,  Caladiums,  Primu- 
las, Fuchsias,  Begonias,  Gloxinias,  Achimenes,  Lobelias, 
Smilax,  and  plants  of  that  character  require  the  glass  to  be 
heavily  shaded,  while  for  Roses,  Carnations,  Bouvardias, 
Poinsettias,  Geraniums  of  all  kinds,  and  nearly  all  suc- 
culent plants,  do  not  need  so  much.  The  method  of 
spattering  the  glass  outside  with  thin  whitewash,  allows 
the  shading  to  be  light  or  heavy,  as  required.  "When 
first  done,  it  is  spattered  very  thinly,  merely  to  break  the 
strong  glare  of  the  sun,  just  about  thick  enough  to  half 


128  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

cover  ftie  surface.  As  the  season  advances,  the  spatter- 
ing should  be  repeated  to  increase  the  shade,  but  at  no 
time  for  the  plants  last  mentioned  do  we  entirely  cover 
the  glass.  In  England,  especially  for  fern  houses, 
Brunswick  green  mixed  with  milk  is  used,  to  give  a 
green  shade,  which  is  thought  to  be  best  suited  to  these 
plants.  The  blue  glass  for  greenhouses  which  was  so 
highly  lauded  a  few  years  ago,  has  not  met  with  much 
favor,  but  recent  experiments  in  glazing  with  ground 
glass  have  given  such  results  as  to  warrant  a  more  careful 
investigation  into  the  use  of  this  material. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

THE   LAW   OF   COLOR   IN   FLOWERS. 

I  refer  to  this  matter  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  the 
means  of  saving  some  of  my  readers,  not  only  from  being 
duped  and  swindled,  by  a  class  of  itinerant  scamps  that 
annually  reap  a  rich  harvest  in  disposing  of  impossibili- 
ties in  flowers,  but  that  I  may  assure  them  of  the  utter 
improbability  of  their  ever  seeing  such  wonders  as  these 
fellows  offer,  thereby  saving  them  from  parting  with 
money  for  worthless  objects,  and  from  the  ridicule  of 
their  friends  who  are  already  better  advised.  This  sub- 
ject cannot  be  too  often  brought  before  our  amateur  hor- 
ticulturists. Warnings  are  given  year  after  year  in  lead- 
ing agricultural  and  other  journals  devoted  to  gardening, 
yet  a  new  crop  of  dupes  is  always  coming  up  who  readily 
fall  victims  to  the  scoundrels  who  live  upon  their  credu- 
lity. Not  a  season  passes  but  some  of  these  swindling 
dealers  have  the  audacity  to  plant  themselves  right  in 


THE   LAW   OF  COLOE  IN   FLOWERS.  129 

the  business  centers  of  our  large  cities,  and  hundreds  of 
our  sharp  business  men  glide  smoothly  into  their  nets. 
The  very  men  who  will  chuckle  at  the  misfortunes  of 
a  poor  rustic  when  he  falls  into  the  hands  of  a  mock 
auctioneer,  or  a  pocket-book  dropper,  will  freely  pay  $10 
for  a  rose  plant  of  which  a  picture  has  been  shown  them 
as  having  a  blue  flower  ;  the  chance  of  its  coming  blue 
being  about  equal  to  the  chance  that  the  watch  of  the 
mock  auctioneer  will  be  gold.  It  has  long  been  known 
among  the  best  observers  of  such  matters,  that  in  certain 
families  of  plants,  particular  colors  prevail,  and  that  in 
no  single  instance  can  we  ever  expect  to  see  Wue,  yellow, 
and  scarlet  colors  in  varieties  of  the  same  species.  If  any 
one  at  all  conversant  with  plants  will  bring  any  family  of 
them  to  mind,  it  will  at  once  be  seen  how  undeviating 
is  this  law.  In  the  Dahlia  we  have  scarlet  and  yellow, 
but  no  approach  to  blue,  so  in  the  Eose,  Hollyhock,  etc. 
Again  in  the  Verbena,  Salvia,  etc.,  we  have  scarlet  and 
blue,  but  no  yellow !  If  we  reflect  it  will  be  seen  that 
there  is  nothing  out  of  the  order  of  nature  in  this  arrange* 
ment.  We  never  expect  to  see  among  our  poultry  with 
their  varied  but  somber  plumage,  any  assume  the  azuro 
hues  of  our  spring  Blue-bird,  or  the  dazzling  tints  of  the 
Oriole ;  why  then  should  we  expect  nature  to  step  out 
of  what  seems  her  fixed  laws,  and  give  us  a  blue  Eose, 
a  blue  Dahlia,  or  a  yellow  Verbena  ? 


THE   FRUIT   GARDEN. 


PRUNING.  133 

CHAPTEE    XLIY. 

PEUNING. 

Though  the  chapter  on  pruning  is  placed  at  the  com- 
mencement of  that  division  of  the  work  which  treats 
upon  fruits,  the  fact  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  prun- 
ing is  often  quite  as  necessary  upon  trees  and  shrubs  cul- 
tivated for  their  flowers  or  foliage  as  upon  those  grown 
for  their  fruit.  In  pruning  we  cut  away  some  portion  of 
a  tree,  shrub,  or  other  plant,  for  the  benefit  of  that  which 
remains,  and  whether  performed  upon  a  branch  six  inches 
through,  or  upon  a  shoot  so  tender  as  to  be  cut  by  the 
thumb-nail,  is  essentially  the  same.  The  operation, 
though  very  simple,  is  one  which  the  amateur  often 
fears  to  undertake,  and  having  no  confidence  in  his 
own  ability,  he  often  employs  some  jobbing  gar- 
dener, who  has  no  fears  on  this  or  any  other  gar- 
dening matter.  Pruning  is  done  for  various  ends, 
and  unless  one  has  a  definite  reason  for  doing  it,  he  had 
better  leave  it  undone  :  Many  have  an  idea  that  pruning 
must,  for  some  reason,  be  done  every  year,  just  as  it  used 
to  be  thought  necessary  for  people  to  be  bled  every  spring, 
whether  well  or  ill.  We  prune  to  control  the  shape  of  a 
tree  or  shrub,  and  by  directing  the  growth  from  one  part 
to  another,  obtain  a  symmetrical  form,  especially  in  fruit 
trees,  where  it  is  desirable  that  the  weight  of  fruit  be 
equally  distributed.  In  some  trees  where  the  fruit  is 
grown  only  on  the  wood  of  the  previous  season,  the  bear- 
ing portions  are  each  year  removed  further  and  further 
from  the  body  of  the  tree  ;  in  such  cases  a  shortening  of 
the  growth  each  year  will  cause  the  formation  of  a  com- 
pact head  instead  of  the  loose  straggling  that  results 
when  this  is  omitted.  We  prune  to  renew  the  vigor  of  a 
plant ;  the  inexperienced  cannot  understand  how  cutting 


134  GAEDEHIKG   FOE   PLEASUKE. 

away  a  third,  a  half,  or  even  more  of  a  plant  can  improve 
it  in  vigor  and  fruitfulness,  or  abundance  and  size  of 
flowers.  Let  us  suppose  that  a  stem  which  grew  last  year 
has  20  buds  upon  it;  if  this  is  allowed  to  take  its  own  course 
in  the  spring,  a  few  of  the  upper  buds  will  push  with 
great  vigor,  and  form  strong  shoots ;  those  below  will 
make  gradually  weaker  shoots,  and  for  probably  the  lower 
third  of  the  stem  the  buds  will  not  start  at  all;  the  most 
vigorous  growth  is  always  at  the  top,  the  buds  there  were 
the  last  formed  in  the  previous  summer,  are  the  most 
excitable,  and  the  soonest  to  grow  the  next  spring,  and 
getting  the  start  of  those  below  them,  they  draw  the 
nourishment  to  themselves  and  starve  the  others.  If, 
instead  of  allowing  this  stem  to  grow  at  will  in  this  man- 
ner, it  had  been,  before  any  of  the  buds  started,  cut 
back  to  leave  only  a  few  of  the  lower  ones,  those  hav- 
ing an  abundance  of  nutriment  would  push  forth  with 
great  vigor  and  be  nearly  equal  in  size,  while  the  flowers  or 
fruit  borne  upon  them  would  be  greatly  superior  to  those 
upon  the  unpruned  stem.  Any  one  can  readily  be  con- 
vinced of  the  utility  of  pruning  by  taking  two  rose-bushes 
of  equal  size,  leaving  one  without  any  pruning  to  take 
care  of  itself,  and  each  spring  cutting  the  other  back  se- 
verely, pruning  away  one-third  or  one-half  of  the  wood 
that  was  formed  the  previous  season.  The  result  at  the 
end  of  two  years  will  be  very  striking.  No  general  rule 
can  be  given  for  pruning  ;  the  amateur  should  use  his 
eyes,  and  notice  the  habit  of  growth  of  his  trees  and 
shrubs.  He  will  find  that  many,  like  the  rose,  produce 
their  flowers  upon  the  new  wood  of  the  present  season, 
and  that  such  plants  are  greatly  benefitted  by  cutting 
back  more  or  less  each  spring.  But  there  are  other 
plants  for  which  this  .treatment  will  not  answer ;  if  we 
examine  a  horse-chestnut-tree,  or  a  lilac-bush,  and  many 
others,  we  shall  find  that  the  flowers  come  from  the  large 
buds  that  were  formed  on  the  end  of  last  season's  growth, 


PKUSTIKG.  135 

and  that  to  cut  back  such  plants  would  be  to  remove  all 
the  flower-buds.  "With  shrubs  of  this  kind,  all  that  need 
be  done  is  to  thin  out  the  branches  where  they  are  too 
crowded.  These  examples  will  warn  the  novice  against 
indiscriminate  pruning,  and  unless  as  he  stands  before 
his  shrub  or  tree,  knife  in  hand,  he  knows  why  he  is  to 
prune  and  how,  let  him  put  his  knife  in  his  pocket,  and 
give  the  plant  the  benefit  of  the  doubt.  While  under 
the  different  fruits  we  can  give  directions  for  the  partic- 
ular pruning  required  by  each,  the  proper  method  of 
treating  a  miscellaneous  collection  of  ornamental  shrubs 
and  trees  can  only  be  learned  by  observation.  The  term 
pruning  is  generally  applied  to  the  cutting  away,  in  whole 
or  in  part,  of  the  ripened  wood,  but  much  pruning  may 
be  done  by  the  use  of  the  thumb  and  finger  ;  this  is 
termed  pinching,  and  is  practiced  upon  young  shoots 
while  they  are  yet  soft.  This  most  useful  form  of  prun- 
ing allows  us  to  control  the  form  of  a  plant  with  the 
greatest  ease,  and  is  applied  not  only  to  soft-wooded 
plants,  but  to  trees  and  shrubs,  and  may  be  so  performed 
on  these  as  to  render  nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  pruning  of 
ripened  wood  unnecessary.  If  a  vigorous  shoot  has  its 
end  or  " growing  point"  pinched  out  it  will  cease  to 
elongate,  but  will  throw  out  branches  below,  the  growth 
of  which  may  be  controlled  in  the  same  manner;  the 
blackberry  illustrates  the  utility  of  this  kind  of  pruning  ; 
the  rampant  growing  shoot  which  springs  up  from  the 
root  will,  if  left  to  itself,  make  a  long  cane  six  or  eight 
feet  high,  and  with  a  very  few  branches  near  the  top  ;  if 
when  this  shoot  has  reached  four,  or  at  most  five  feet, 
its  end  be  pinched  off,  it  will  then  throw  out  numerous 
branches,  and*if  the  upper  branches,  when  they  reach  the 
length  of  18  inches,  be  "  stopped,"  (as  it  is  called),  in  a 
similar  manner,  by  pinching,  the  growth  will  be  directed 
to  the  lower  ones,  and  by  the  end  of  the  season  instead 
of  a  long,  unmanageable  wand,  there  will  be  a  well- 


136 


QAEDENIKG   FOB   PLEASURE. 


branched  busli  which  will  bear  its  fruit  all  within  reach. 
The  grower  of  plants  in  pots  is  usually  afraid  to  remove 
eyen  a  single  inch  of  the  stem,  and  the  result  is  usually 
a  lot  of  " leggy"  specimens  not  worth  the  care  that  is 
otherwise  bestowed  upon  them.  Plants  may  be  prevented 
from  ever  reaching  this  condition,  if  their  growth  be 
properly  controlled  by  pinching ;  but  if  they  have  once 
reached  it,  they  should  be  cut  back  severely,  and  a  com- 
pact bushy  form  obtained  from  the  new  shoots  which  will 
soon  start.  The  mechanical  part  of  pruning  is  very  sim- 
ple, a  sharp  knife  is  the  best  implement,  as  it  makes  a 
clean  cut,  without  bruising 
the  bark,  and  the  wound 
quickly  heals  ;  but  shears  are 
much  easier  to  handle,  and 
the  work  can  be  done  so 
much  more  quickly,  that  they 
are  generally  preferred,  and 
for  rampant  growing  bushes 
will  answer,  but  upon  fruit- 
trees,  and  choice  plants  gen- 
erally, the  knife  is  to  be  pre- 
ferred. The  cut  should  be 
made  just  at  a  joint ;  not  so 
far  above  it  as  to  leave  a 
stub,  as  in  fig.  49,  which  will  die  back  to  the  bud,  there 
being  nothing  to  contribute  to  its  growth  ;  nor  should  it 
be  made  so  close  to  the  bud  as  to  endanger  it,  as  in  fig. 
48  ;  the  cut  should  start  just  opposite  the  lower  part  of 
the  bud  and  end  just  above  its  top,  as  in  fig.  50.  For 
the  removal  of  branches  too  large  to  cut  with  the  knife, 
as  must  sometimes  be  done  on  neglected  "trees,  a  saw  is 
required.  Saws  are  made  especially  for  the  purpose,  but 
any  narrow  one  with  the  teeth  set  wide  will  answer ;  the 
rough  cut  left  by  the  saw  should  be  pared  smooth,  and  if 
an  inch  or  more  in  diameter,  the  wound  should  be  cov- 


Fig.  48.     Fig.  49.      Fig.  50. 

WHERE  TO  CUT  IN  PRUNING. 


PRUNING. 


137 


ered ;  ordinary  paint,  melted  grafting  wax,  or  shellac 
varnish  will  answer  to  protect  the  bare  wood  from  air  and 
moisture,  and  prevent  decay. 

In  pruning  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  future 
shape  of  the  tree  will  be  materially  affected  by  the 
position  upon  the  branch  of  the  bud  to  which  the 
cut  is  made ;  the  upper  bud  left  on  the  branch  will 
continue  the  growth,  and  the  new  shoot  will  be  in  the 
direction  of  that  bud.  If 
a  young  tree  is,  as  in  fig. 
51,  to  have  all  its  branches 
shortened,  and  each  is  cut 
to  a  bud,  A,  pointing  to- 
wards the  center  of  the  tree, 
the  tendency  of  the  new 
growth  will  all  be  inward, 
as  in  fig.  52  ;  while  if  all 
be  cut  to  an  outside  bud, 
B,  the  result  will  be  to 
spread  the  growth,  as  in 
fig.  53.  As  to  the  time  of 
pruning,  about  which  there 
has  been  much  discussion, 
it  may  be  done  on  small 
stems  at  any  time  after  the 
fall  of  the  leaf,  before  the  growth  starts  in  the  spring, 
but  for  the  removal  of  large  branches,  late  in  winter  is 
regarded  as  the  best  time.  Pinching  is  of  course  done 
whenever  it  is  needed. 


Fig.  51.         Fig.  52.        Fig.  53. 

PRUNING  FOB  SHAPE. 


138  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTEK     XLV. 

HARDY    GRAPES. 

Grapes  can  be  grown  in  almost  any  soil,  provided  it  is 
not  a  wet  one,  although  the  grape  will  take  abundance  of 
water  when  in  a  growing  state,  it  must  pass  off  quickly, 
else  the  growth  will  be  impeded.  If  the  ground  is  not 
naturally  suitable,  (i.  e. ,  at  least  a  foot  in  depth  of  good 
soil),  a  border  prepared  in  the  manner  recommended  in 
the  chapter  on  "  Cold  Grapery,"  will  well  repay  the 
trouble.  It  is  imperative  that  the  position  where  the 
vine  is  planted  be  such  as  will  enable  it  to  get  sunlight 
for  the  greater  portion  of  the  day.  Ten  years  ago  I 
planted  an  arbor  with  an  arched  top  and  100  feet  long  by 
16  feet  wide  and  10  feet  high,  covering  a  walk  running 
east  and  west ;  this  gave  a  south  and  north  exposure. 
The  crop  has  always  been  excellent  and  abundant  on  the 
south  side,  and  top  of  the  arbor,  but  on  the  north 
side,  (unless  the  first  and  second  years  of  fruiting, 
when  there  was  not  sufficient  foliage  to  impede  the  light), 
it  has  been  nearly  a  failure.  There  is  much  misconcep- 
tion as  to  what  should  be  the  age  of  a  grape-vine  when 
planted ;  nine-tenths  of  our  amateur  customers  ask  for 
vines  three  or  four  years  old.  If  a  vine  of  that  age  could 
be  properly  lifted  with  every  root  unbroken,  then  there 
might  be  some  advantage  in  its  greater  strength,  but  as 
vines  are  usually  grown  in  the  nurseries  closely  together, 
with  the  roots  all  interlaced,  large  plants  can  rarely  be  got 
with  roots  enough  to  support  the  vine  and  maintain  its 
vigor  after  transplanting.  As  a  rule  it  is  better  to  plant 
one  or  two-year-old  vines,  which  can  usually  be  bought 
at  half  the  price  of  those  of  three  or  four  years  old,  and 


HARDY   GRAPES. 


139 


which  in  all  probability  will  give  a  crop  quite  as  soon,  if 
not  sooner,  than  the  large  ones.  The  manner  of  plant- 
ing the  vine  is  similar  to  that  of  setting  any  other  tree  or 
shrub.  The  ground  must  be  thoroughly  broken  up,  not 
in  a  mere  hole  only  sufficient  to  hold  the  roots,  but  if  a 
regular  border  has  not  been  made,  the  place  where  each 
vine  is  to  be  planted,  should  not  be  less  than  three  feet 
in  diameter,  and  if  double  that,  all  the  better,  and  to  the 
depth  of  not  less  than  a  foot.  On  receiving  the  vine 
from  the  nursery,  it  may  consist  of  one  or  more  shoots, 


Fig.  54. — VINE  WITH  TWO  SHOOTS. 


Fig.  55. — VINE   WITH  ARMS. 


but  on  planting  it  should  be  cut  back  to  only  two  or  three 
eyes  or  buds.  On  starting  to  grow,  all  of  these  buds  or 
eyes  should  be  rubbed  off  except  one,  selecting  the  strong- 
est. Train  this  shoot  perpendicularly  to  a  stake  the  first 
year  of  its  growth,  tne  next  fall,  when  the  leaves  drop, 
cut  it  back  to  nine  or  ten  inches  from  the  ground.  When 
the  vine  starts  the  next  spring,  rub  off  all  eyes  or  buds 
except  two,  which  during  the  season  will  form  two  canes, 
as  in  fig.  54.  These,  if  they  are  canes  half  an  inch  in 


140 


GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 


diameter,  are  in  fall  to  be  pruned  to  three  or  four  feet 
long,  and  the  following  spring  are  to  be  trained  hori- 
zontally, one  to  the  right,  the  other  to  the  left.  If  at 
the  end  of  the  second  year  they  are  still  small,  it  is 
better  to  delay  laying  down  the  arms  until  another 
year,  and  grow  two  upright  shoots  again,  to  get 
them  sufficiently  strong.  These  will  form  the  base  from 
which  to  start  the  upright  shoots,  as  shown  in  fig.  55. 
These  upright  growths  will  be  the  permanent  fruiting 
canes,  and  should  be  from  15  to  18  inches  apart,  and 
pruned  on  what  is  known  as  the  spur  system  as  shown 


Fig.  56.— VINE  SPUR-PRUNED. 

by  fig.  56.  There  is  nothing  arbitrary  as  to  the  hight 
these  canes  should  be.  It  is  a  matter  of  convenience  or 
taste  whether  they  be  trained  to  3  feet  or  15  feet. 
Vines  thus  treated  may  be  allowed  to  produce  a  few 
bunches  the  third  year,  and  by  the  sixth  year,  may  be 
fruited  to  the  hight  of  10  or  12  feet  of  cane  if  desired. 
Not  more  than  two  bunches  of  fruit  should  be  allowed  to 
each  shoot.  We  give  this  manner  of  training  as  one  of 
the  simplest,  although  the  system  of  training  has  but 
little  to  do  with  the  crop. 

The  distance  apart  at  which  grape-vines  may  be  plant- 
ed, except  the  Delaware  and  a  few  of  the  weaker  grow- 
ing sorts,  is  about  eight  feet ;  the  Delaware  may  be  set 
one-third  closer.  Although  grape-vines  are  hardy  in 
nearly  all  sections,  yet  in  any  locality  where  the  ther- 


HARDY   GRAPES.  141 

mometer  falls  to  zero,  it  is  beneficial  to  lay  them  down 
close  to  the  ground  and  cover  them  up  with  rough  litter 
before  the  approach  of  severe  weather  in  winter,  allowing 
it  to  remain  on  in  spring  until  the  buds  begin  to  swell, 
when  the  vines  are  uncovered  and  tied  up  to  the  trellis. 
If  covered  in  this  way  they  should  be  pruned  before  lay- 
ing down.  Pruning  may  be  done  at  any  time  from  No- 
vember to  March.  It  is  a  common  belief  that  grape-vines 
should  be  pruned  only  at  certain  seasons.  The  weather 
must  not  be  too  cold,  otherwise  it  is  supposed  they  may 
be  injured  if  then  pruned.  Again,  they  must  not  be 
pruned  late  in  the  spring,  else  the  sap  oozing  from  the 
cuts  may  bleed  them  to  death.  Let  me  say  that  both 
these  notions  are  utter  nonsense.  The  pruning  of  any 
tree  or  vine  in  the  coldest  weather  cannot  possibly  injure, 
and  the  "bleeding"  or  running  of  the  sap  after  any  or- 
dinary pruning,  can  no  more  hurt  the  vine  than  the 
blood  flowing  from  a  pin  scratch  would  weaken  a  healthy 
man.  This  method  of  covering  up  the  grape-vine  is  not 
commonly  practised,  but  we  are  satisfied  that  in  exposed 
positions  it  is  well  worth  the  trouble.  I  have  practised 
it  with  vines  now  ten  years  old,  embracing  some  20  vari- 
eties ;  my  soil  is  a  stiff  clay  very  unsuitable  for  the  grape, 
yet  these  vines  have  kept  clear  of  mildew,  when  my 
neighbor's  vines  a  few  hundred  yards  off  have  been  seri- 
ously injured  by  it.  I  have  long  believed  that  intense 
cold,  long  continued,  is  hurtful  to  even  such  plants  as  we 
call  hardy,  and  the  wonderful  vigor  of  these  old  vines, 
so  treated,  seems  a  good  evidence  of  it. 

The  litter  used  in  covering,  (which  has  become  well- 
rotted  by  spring),  is  spread  over  the  border,  acting  both 
as  a  summer  mulch  and  fertilizer.  Mildew  is  the  worst 
enemy  to  the  vine  ;  the  same  remedy  we  recommend  in 
this  book  for  mildew  on  roses,  will  be  found  equally  effi- 
cacious for  the  grape.  On  the  large  scale  dry  sulphur  is 
used,  blown  upon  the  vines  by  a  bellows  for  the  purpose. 


142 


GARDENING   FOR  PLEASURE. 


Fig.  57. 

CUTTING. 


Propagation  of  the  grape  is  done  by  nurserymen  in  green- 
houses, similar  to  that  used  for  propagating 
florists  plants.  But  most  of  the  varieties  can 
be  grown  with  fair  success  by  cuttings  in  the 
open  air.  The  cuttings,  (made  from  the 
young,  well  ripened  shoots  of  the  previous 
year's  growth),  may  be  made  with  two  (fig.  57) 
or  three  buds  or  eyes,  planted  in  rows,  say  one 
foot  apart  and  three  inches  between  the  cut- 
tings, and  set  so  that  the  top  eye  or  bud  only 
is  above  ground.  The  situation  where  the 
cuttings  are  placed  should  be  well  exposed 
to  the  sun,  the  soil  rich  and  deep,  and  of 
sandy  or  light  character.  Care  must  be 
taken  that  the  cutting  is  well  firmed  in  the 
soil.  The  cuttings  may  be  made  from  the 
primings  at  any  time  during  winter,  and 
kept  in  a  damp  cellar  or  buried  outside 
in  sand  until  planted  in  the  cutting-bed  in  the  spring. 

THE    VARIETIES    OF    THE    GRAPE 

Now  number  many  hundred,  and  we  will  recommend 
only  a  very  few  of  the  most  distinct  sorts  that  have  been 
grown  long  enough  to  allow  us  to  be  certain  of  their 
merits. 

Concord  is  perhaps  more  universally  cultivated  than 
any  other.  It  grows  most  luxuriantly,  bearing  bunches 
of  large  size  abundantly  ;  color  black,  with  a  rich  blue 
bloom  ;  the  flavor  is  of  average  quality.  Eipens  during 
the  month  of  September. 

Hartford  Prolific. — Eesembles  the  Concord  in  general 
appearance,  but  ripens  two  or  three  weeks  earlier.  It  is 
valuable  on  this  account,  but  in  light  soils  drops  its  fruit 
badly,  which  is  quite  a  drawback. 

lona. — Is  a  seedling  of  the  old  Catawba,  color  pale  red, 


HARDY  GEAPES.  143 

flavor  excellent,  fully  equal  fco  the  Catawba,  but  it  is  pref- 
erable to  that  variety  in  ripening  fully  a  month  earlier, 
or  from  the  1st  to  15th  of  September.  One  of  the  best, 
where  it  succeeds ;  it  requires  a  strong  soil. 

Delaware. — Its  entirely  distinct  character  from  any  of 
our  hardy  grapes,  at  one  time  raised  the  question  whether 
this  was  not  a  foreign  variety,  but  that  point  we  believe 
is  now  settled,  and  it  is  conceded  to  be  a  native.  In 
flavor  it  is  unsurpassed,  equal  to  many  of  our  best  foreign 
sorts.  Bunches  and  berries  small,  of  a  dark  pinkish  red 
color. 

Rogers9  Hybrids. — These  varieties,  probably  from  the 
unfortunate  mistake  made  by  their  raiser  in  designating 
them  by  numbers  instead  of  by  names,  have  never,  we 
think,  had  the  popularity  they  deserve.  Some  of  them 
are  entirely  distinct  in  color  and  flavor  from  any  other 
native  grapes,  and  form  magnificent  bunches.  No.  4  (now 
called  Wilder),  has  berries  and  bunches  of  the  largest  size, 
black  with  rich  bloom,  flavor  excellent,  ripens  September 
first.  No.  15,  (Agawam),  is  a  beautiful  grape  of  a 
bronze  color,  with  pinkish  bloom  on  the  side  next  the 
sun.  It  ripens  early  in  September,  and  we  find  every 
season  that  the  grape  consumers  of  our  household  rarely 
touch  a  bunch  of  any  other  grape  as  long  as  any  are 
left  on  No.  15.  No.  1,  (Gcathe),  is  about  the  size  and 
color  of  the  white  Malaga  grape  of  commerce,  tinged 
with  pink  on  the  sunny  side,  flavor  excellent,  one  of  the 
latest,  ripening  here  in  October.  No.  19  resembles  No. 
4,  but  of  an  entirely  distinct  flavor,  by  some  preferred  ; 
ripens  15th  of  September. 


144  GARDENING  FOE   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XLVL 

THE    COLD     GRAPERY. 

I  know  of  no  addition  to  a  country  home  from  which 
such  a  large  amount  of  satisfaction  can  be  obtained  at  so 
small  an  outlay  as  from  a  grapery  for  growing  the  differ- 
ent varieties  of  foreign  grapes.  It  has  been  proved  that 
none  of  these  fine  varieties  can  be  cultivated  with  any  sat- 
isfaction in  any  part  of  the  northern  or  even  middle 
states,  except  under  glass.  In  California  and  some  other 
states  and  territories  west  of  the  Mississippi  the  varie- 
ties of  the  European  grape  have  been  extensively  grown 
in  the  open  air.  There  the  conditions  of  climate  are 
such  as  to  make  their  culture  a  success  equal  to  that  at- 
tained any  where  in  Europe.  Besides  the  luxury  of  the 
grape  as  a  table  fruit,  no  finer  sight  can  be  seen,  and  there 
is  nothing  of  which  an  amateur  gardener  may  be  more 
proud  than  a  grapery  in  which  the  vines  are  loaded  with 
ripe  fruit.  And  as  this  can  be  obtained  at  a  trifling 
original  outlay,  and  with  but  little  attention  in  the  culti- 
vation afterwards,  I  will  briefly  describe  how  to  do  it. 

Our  climate  is  particularly  well  adapted  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  vines  under  glass  without  fire  heat,  and  the  won- 
der is  that  cold  graperies  are  not  in  more  general  use 
even  by  people  of  moderate  means  than  they  at  pres- 
ent are.  We  built  one  for  our  own  use  on  the  plan  shown 
on  page  92;  it  answering  for  a  greenhouse  as  well  as 
for  a  grapery.  The  dimensions  are  50  feet  long  by 
25  wide.  It  is  finished  in  very  good  style,  and  cost  but 
little  more  than  $1,000.  It  was  planted  in  June,  and 
the  third  year  from  planting  we  cut  upwards  of  300  Ibs. 
of  fruit  from  it ;  the  next  season  it  yielded  nearly  double 
that  quantity.  The  building  was  begun  by  setting  locust 
posts  four  feet  apart ;  on  these  was  framed  the  sill,  on 


THE   COLD   GRAPERY.  145 

the  front  of  which  were  placed  upright  sashes  two  and  a 
half  feet  in  hight,  and  on  these  the  gutter.  From  the 
gutter  was  sprung  the  bars,  ten  inches  apart  each  way, 
running  on  the  east  side  clear  to  the  ridge  pole  ;  on  the 
west  framed  to  within  2  feet  of  it,  so  as  to  give  room  for 
lifting  sashes.  These  were  two  feet  wide  by  six  long. 
To  these  sashes,  eight  in  number,  were  attached  Hitch- 
ing's  patent  ventilating  apparatus,  which  by  turning  a 
crank  opens  these  sashes  from  one  to  twenty-four  inches, 
as  desired.  The  front  sashes  may  be  made  so  that 
every  alternate  one  can  open  outward.  The  glass  used 
is  known  as  second  quality  English  or  French,  8  x  10 
inches,  and  put  in  without  the  use  of  any  putty  on 
the  top  of  the  glass,  the  manner  of  glazing  being  to 
"  bed"  the  pane  in  soft  putty,  pressing  it  down  tightly, 
and  then  tacking  in  the  glass  with  large  glazing  points 
about  the  size  shown  in  fig.  58; 
we  find  it  an  excellent  plan  in 
glazing  to  turn  up  the  edge  of 
these  points  as  in  fig.  59,  so  that 

they  can  catch  under  the  edge  of       Fig.  53.  Fig.  59. 

the  lapping  pane  to  keep  it  in          TIN.  BENT  TIN. 

place,  otherwise  it  would  slip  down,  and  give  a  great  deal 
of  trouble.  Glaziers  will  not  use  the  points  in  this  way 
unless  compelled  to  do  so,  as  it  takes  a  somewhat  longer 
time.  Glass  should  never  be  lapped  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  inch,  if  much  more,  the  water  gets  between  the 
laps,  and  when  it  freezes  the  glass  is  cracked.  With 
these  instructions  about  the  erection  of  the  glass  and 
wood-work,  any  intelligent  mechanic  should  be  able  to 
build  from  the  plan  given.  Provision  for  water  should  be 
made  by  building  a  cistern  inside  the  grapery,  say  four 
feet  deep  by  eight  feet  in  diameter,  or  that  capacity  in  an 
oblong  shape  would  be  better.  This  cistern  can  be  sup- 
plied by  water  from  the  roof,  having  a  waste-pipe  for 
overflow.  These  general  directions  for  such  a  structure 
7 


146 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


as  shown  in  the  cut,  are  equally  applicable  for  almost  any 
size  or  kind  of  grapery.  Many  are  built  in  the  form  of  a 
"lean-to,"  that  is,  placed  against  any  building  or  fence, 
using  such  for  the  back  wall  of  the  grapery.  This  would 
necessitate  only  the  low  front  wall,  which  need  not  be 
more  than  one  foot  from  the  ground,  if  the  width  is  but 
ten  or  twelve  feet,  but  a  path  would  require  to  be  sunk 
inside  to  give  room  to  stand  upright.  The  sketch,  fig. 


Fig.  60.— LEAN-TO  GRAPERY. 

60,  shows  an  outline  of  a  "lean-to"  grapery  twenty  feet 
wide,  nine  feet  high  at  back  and  two  feet  in  front.  Such 
a  structure,  (exclusive  of  the  "  border,")  may  be  put  up 
roughly  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  $4  per  running  foot, 
without  heating  apparatus.  Its  aspect  may  be  any  point 
from  east  to  south-west. 

I  recollect  that  some  dozen  years  ago  a  German  jeweler 
in  Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  grew  a  splendid  crop  of  Black  Ham- 
burgs  on  vines  which  had  been  planted  against  the 
rear  fence  of  his  city  lot,  by  placing  against  the  fence 
some  old  sashes  eight  feet  long.  It  was  rather  a  bung- 
ling sort  of  an  arrangement  and  awkward  to  get  at,  but 
it  served  the  purpose  of  ripening  the  Hamburg  grapes, 
which  could  not  have  been  done  without  the  glass.  When 
one  contemplates  the  erection  of  a  complete  range  of  gra- 


THE   COLD   GRAPERY.  147 

peries,  the  services  of  a  competent  garden  architect  should 
be  engaged.  The  border  of  the  one  we  have  in  use  was  be- 
gun by  excavating  the  natural  soil  to  the  depth  of  twenty 
inches  and  fifteen  feet  in  width,  for  the  length  of  the 
grapery  on  each  side.  The  inside  was  left  untouched, 
the  borders  being  entirely  outside.  The  bottom  of  the 
excavation  was  graded  from  the  front  of  the  building  to 
the  outside  of  the  borders,  with  a  fall  of  about  an  inch 
to  a  foot,  so  that  thorough  and  rapid  drainage  would  be 
sure  to  be  attained.  At  the  extremity  of  each  border  a 
drain  was  built  to  carry  off  the  water.  The  whole  bot- 
tom was  then  cemented  over  so  as  to  prevent  the  roots 
from  penetrating  the  subsoil.  This  pit  was  then  filled  to 
the  depth  of  about  two  feet,  (four  inches  being  allowed 
for  settling),  with  a  compost  which  was  previously  pre- 
pared by  mixing  about  three  parts  of  turf  taken  from  the 
surface  of  a  rather  shaly  pasture,  one  part  of  rotten  stable 
manure,  and  one  part  of  lime  rubbish. 

It  is  one  of  the  popular  errors  that  vines  for  graperies 
should  be  two  or  three  years  old;  the  age  of  a  vine  usually 
has  but  little  to  do  with  its  size,  and  if  grape-vines  are 
properly  grown  the  first  year  from  cuttings,  they  will  be 
quite  as  good  for  planting  as  if  two  or  three  years  old. 
In  fact  it  is  a  question  whether  a  vine  grown  from  a  cut- 
ting in  March,  and  planted  in  June,  is  not  quite  as  good 
as  one  a  year  older.  Our  experience  has  shown  that  there 
is  hardly  a  perceptible  difference  in  the  two  at  the  end  of 
the  season  ;  as  such  vines,  however,  are  too  tender  to  be 
shipped  far,  we  generally  recommend  buying  one  year  old 
vines  that  may  be  planted  in  April,  May,  or  June,  hav- 
ing ripened  shoots  about  three  feet  in  length.  These 
vines  are  all  grown  in  pots  the  previous  season,  and  when 
received  the  soil  should  be  shaken  off  entirely,  and  the  roots 
spread  out  in  the  border  without  injuring  them.  The 
root,  it  will  be  understood,  is  planted  outside  in  the  bor- 
der, and  the  shoot  taken  inside,  through  an .  opening  in 


148  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

the  walls.  This  is  made  of  brick  or  stone,  and  should  be 
left  open  at  every  three  feet,  the  distance  at  which  the 
vines  should  be  planted  ;  if  the  wall  is  of  wood,  it  can 
easily  be  cut  to  suit  the  size  of  the  vine.  The  plants  we 
used  were  strong  one-year-old  vines,  and  were  set  about 
June  1st.  By  October  they  had  grown  to  over  twenty 
feet  in  length.  The  varieties  used  were  nine-tenths 
Black  Hamburg,  with  a  few  Muscats  and  Frontignans, 
all  of  which  have  done  exceedingly  well. 

In  November  they  were  cut  back  to  the  bottom  of  the 
rafter,  or  about  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and  quickly 
reached  the  top  again  the  second  year,  with  firm,  well- 
ripened  wood.  In  November  they  were  again  pruned 
back  to  about  three  feet  above  the  foot  of  the  rafter,  or 
six  feet  from  the  ground.  On  this  shoot  was  produced 
the  fruit  referred  to,  (the  third  year  from  the  time  of 
planting).  We  prune  any  time  in  November  or  Decem- 
ber after  the  leaves  have  fallen,  and  cut  the  shoot  back 
to  about  four  feet  from  top  of  the  rafter,  or  about  sixteen 
feet  from  the  ground. 

Every  December  we  lay  the  vines  down  along  the  front 
wall  after  being  pruned,  covering  them  completely  with 
soil  until  May,  when  they  are  then  taken  up  and  tied  to 
the  wires,  which  are  1\16  galvanized  iron,  and  run  across 
the  rafters  15  inches  apart  and  15  inches  from  the  glass. 
The  training  followed  is  what  is  called  the  "spur"  sys- 
tem, which  is  simply  to  allow  one  cane  or  shoot  to  each 
rafter,  (or  at  three  feet  apart),  and  pruning  the  side 
shoots  or  "  bearing  wood  "  annually  back  to  one  eye.  In 
the  summer  treatment  of  the  cold  grapery,  the  principle 
must  never  be  lost  sight  of,  that  to  keep  the  vines  in  per- 
fect health,  a  temperature  of  not  less  than  70°  at  night, 
with  10°  or  15°  higher  during  the  day  is  always  necessary. 
Any  rapid  variation  downward  is  certain  to  result  in  mil- 
dew. The  floor  of  the  grapery  should  be  kept  dashed 
with  water  at  all  times,  unless  in  damp  weather,  from  the 


THE  COLD   GBAPEEY.  149 

time  the  buds  start  in  May,  until  the  fruit  begins  to 
ripen  in  September,  except  during  the  period  the  vines 
are  in  flower,  when  it  should  be  dispensed  with  until  the 
fruit  is  set.  If  the  weather  is  dry,  copious  watering  is 
necessary  for  the  border  outside.  The  summer  pruning 
of  the  grapery  consists  simply  in  pinching  off  the  laterals, 
or  side  shoots  which  start  from  where  the  leaf  joins 
the  stem,  to  one  leaf.  Every  winter  three  inches  of 
the  best  well-rottel  stable  manure  is  spread  over  the 
border,  and  over  that  six  inches  of  leaves  or  lit- 
ter ;  this  is  raked  off  in  spring,  and  the  manure  forked 
in,  the  object  being  to  feed  the  roots  from  the  top  of  the 
border.  This  same  treatment  we  give  our  hardy  grapes 
with  excellent  results. 

I  am  a  good  deal  of  a  utilitarian,  and  am  very  apt  to 
make  even  my  luxuries  " pay"  when  it  is  practicable  to 
do  so  ;  and  though  we  would  hardly  think  of  selling  our 
grapes  that  have  been  grown  for  private  use,  yet  I  do  not 
scruple  to  make  the  glass  that  shelters  them  do  double 
duty  by  using  it  in  winter  to  shelter  our  half-hardy  roses 
from  November  to  May.  Those  that  do  not  make  rose- 
growing  a  business,  as  I  do,  can  nevertheless  profit  by  my 
example,  and  use  the  cold  grapery  for  many  purposes 
during  the  winter  months  when  it  is  not  needed  for  the 
grape-vines.  Besides  roses,  all  plants  of  a  half-hardy 
character  may  be  kept  there,  such  as  Pomegranates, 
Crape  Myrtles,  Pampas  Grass,  Tritomas,  Carnations,  etc., 
care  being  taken  that  the  pots  or  tubs  in  which  they  are 
planted  are  plunged  in  leaves,  tan,  or  some  such  sub- 
stance, so  the  roots  do  not  freeze.  The  cold  grapery 
makes  an  excellent  poultry-house  in  winter,  only  if  put 
to  that  use,  care  must  be  taken  that  the  buried  vines  are 
secure  against  the  scratching  of  the  hens. 


150  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

CHAPTER    XLVIL 

THE   HOT-HOUSE    OR   FORCING   GRAPERY. 

When  grapes  are  forced  by  artificial  heat,  probably  the 
best  plan  is  that  of  the  "lean-to"  structure  shown  by 
the  illustrations,  figs.  61,  62,  and  63.  Fig.  61  gives  the 
plan,  which,  as  in  some  former  engravings,  it  is  not  prac- 
ticable to  show  on  the  page  at  full  length;  it  is  accord- 
ingly "fractured"  portions,  as  shown  by  the  irregular 
lines,  being  taken  out  of  each  compartment ;  the  figures 
give  the  proper  proportion.  Fig.  62  is  a  part  of  the  front 
elevation,  and  fig.  63,  a  section  at  the  division  between 
the  two  houses.  The  house  is  100  feet  long  by  16  feet 
wide,  divided  into  two  compartments  for  early  and  late 
forcing,  each  50x16  feet,  and  both  heated  by  one  boiler 
with  valves  in  the  furnace  pit  to  shut  off  and  taps  to  draw 
the  water  from  the  pipes  not  in  use  ;  a  matter  to  be  looked 
to  when  vineries  are  not  in  use,  for  if  the  water  is  not  drawn 
out  of  the  pipes  it  may  freeze  and  burst  them.  When  grapes 
are  to  be  forced,  it  is  essential  that  a  sufficient  covering 
of  manure  or  leaves  be  placed  on  the  border  to  prevent 
frost  from  reaching  the  roots,  as  to  apply  heat  to  the  vines 
inside  while  the  roots  are  frozen,  would  seriously  in- 
jure them.  For  very  early  forcing,  when  the  vines  are 
started  as  early  as  January,  it  is  usual  not  only  to  put 
covering  enough  to  secure  from  frost,  but  also  to 
slightly  ferment,  so  as  to  throw  some  warmth  into  the 
border.  No  matter  at  what  season  the  grapery  is  started 
for  forcing,  the  temperature  should  not  run  over  50°  or 
55°  at  night,  with  a  day  temperature  of  10°  or  15°  higher, 
increasing  10°  when  the  buds  have  opened,  which  will  be 
in  four  or  five  weeks  from  the  time  of  starting.  In  five 
or  six  weeks  the  fruit  will  be  set  and  the  temperature  is  to 
In  forcing,  moisture  is  of  equal  im- 


THE  HOT-HOUSE   OR  FORCING   GRAPERY. 


151 


r   61. — PLAN  OF  FORCING  GRAPERY 


152 


GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 


portance  with  heat,  for  if  this  is  not  attended  to,  you 
may  expect  red-spiders  and  thrips,  and  then  all  your  labor 
may  be  in  vain  ;  to  keep  up  this  moisture,  tanks  are  usu- 


Fig.  62.— ELEVATION  OF  FBONT  OF  FORCING  GBAPEBT  (IN  PABT). 


Fig.  63.— SECTION  OF  FORCING  GBAPEBT. 

ally  placed  on  the  hot- water  pipes  for  graperies,  and  these 
are  kept  filled  with  water,  keeping  up  a  continued  evap- 
oration, except  at  the  time  the  vines  are  in  flower ;  it 


THE  STRAWBERRY.  153 

should  be  then  discontinued  until  the  fruit  is  set.  When 
there  is  no  such  arrangement  for  evaporation,  dash  water 
over  the  floors  and  use  the  syringe.  To  secure  fine  berries 
and  bunches,  one- third  of  the  berries  should  be  thinned  out 
when  of  the  size  of  peas,  using  scissors  made  for  this 
purpose. 


CHAPTER     XLVIII. 

THE    STRAWBERRY. 

Of  all  small  fruits,  none  perhaps  stand  so  high  in 
general  favor  as  the  strawberry.  Its  culture  is  simple, 
and  as  it  grows  freely  in  almost  any  soil  or  location,  no 
garden  of  any  pretensions  should  be  without  it.  If 
a  choice  of  soil  can  be  had,  nothing  is  so  suitable  as  a 
deep,  rich,  but  rather  sandy  loam,  though  it  will  yield 
returns  sufficient  to  warrant  its  cultivation  on  any  soil, 
from  almost  pure  sand  to  clay,  providing  that  it  is  drained 
naturally  or  artificially.  In  all  soils,  deep  spading  or 
plowing  is  essential  to  the  production  of  fine  crops  ;  and 
this  should  not  be  less  than  a  foot,  and  if  18  inches,  all 
the  better.  A  coat  of  thoroughly  rotted  stable  manure 
at  least  three  inches  in  thickness,  should  be  dug  in  and 
well  mixed  with  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  six  or  nine  inches. 
In  the  absence  of  stable  manure,  any  of  the  concentrated 
fertilizers  mentioned  in  chapter  VI,  "  How  to  Use  Con- 
centrated Fertilizers,"  used  in  the  manner  and  quantities 
there  described,  will  do  as  a  substitute.  Where  muck 
from  the  swamps,  or  leaf-mold  from  the  woods  can  be 
obtained,  twenty  bushels  of  either  of  these  mixed  with 
one  bushel  of  ashes,  will  make  an  excellent  fertilizer  for 
strawberries,  and  may  be  spread  on  as  thickly  as  stable 
manure,  and  on  sandy  soils  is  probably  better. 


154  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

Strawberries  may  be  planted  either  in  the  fall  or  spring. 
If  the  plants  are  to  be  set  in  the  fall,  it  should  not  be 
done  if  possible  in  this  latitude  before  the  middle  of  Sep- 
tember. This,  of  course,  refers  to  the  plants  from  run- 
ners taken  up  from  the  bed  in  the  usual  manner,  and 
there  is  nothing  gained  in  time  over  planting  the  next 
spring,  as  the  plant  must  grow  for  one  season  before  it 
can  bear  a  full  crop  of  fruit.  In  private  gardens  it  is 


Fig.  64— STRIKING  STKAWBEBBIES  IN  POTS. 

much  better  to  have  the  plants  layered  in  pots,  as  they 
may  then  be  set  at  almost  any  time.  These  pots  may  be 
from  two  to  three  inches  in  diameter ;  when  a  lot  of 
strawberry  plants  are  wanted  for  a  new  bed,  all  that  is 
necessary  to  do  is  to  fill  these  small  pots  with  soil,  and 
"  plunge  "  or  plant  the  pot  just  to  the  surface  level,  plac- 
ing the  unrooted  "runner"  of  the  strawberry  plant  on 
the  top  of  the  soil  in  the  flower-pot,  and  laying  a  small 
stone  or  clod  on  it  to  keep  it  in  place.  This  method  of 
striking  in  pots  is  shown  in  fig.  64.  The  runners  so 


THE  STRAWBERRY.  155 

treated  will  form  plants  in  two  or  three  weeks,  and  may 
be  planted  out  with  safety  any  time  from  August  to  Oc- 
tober. If  strawberry  plants  are  treated  in  this  way,  and 
planted  in  August,  and  care  taken  that  all  runners  that 
come  from  them  be  cut  off  as  soon  as  formed,  so  that  the 
whole  force  of  the  root  is  thrown  into  the  main  crown, 
a  full  crop  of  berries  will  be  gathered  the  season  follow- 
ing, or  in  nine  or  ten  months  from  time  of  planting.  We 
have  practiced  this  system  of  layering  strawberry  plants 
in  pots  for  what  we  need  for  our  own  use,  for  the  past 
twenty  years,  and  the  results  have  been  so  successful  that 
we  have  many  converts  to  the  system  among  our  neigh- 
bors. Plants  grown  in  this  manner  cannot  often  be  ob- 
tained from  the  nurseries,  as  the  necessary  labor  and  ex- 
pense of  the  pots  makes  the  price  five  times  more  than 
that  of  ordinary  plants  rooted  in  the  open  bed.  When 
strawberry  plants  are  set  out  in  the  fall,  unless  under 
favorable  circumstances,  many  will  fail  to  grow,  for  the 
reason  that  each  young  plant  or  runner  is  sustained  in 
part  by  the  old  plant,  and  when  detached,  feels  the  shock 
more  than  a  rooted  cutting  or  seedling  plant  does,  that 
has  been  growing  for  weeks  on  its  own  account,  for  that 
reason  we  have  always  advised  all  that  were  intending  to 
plant  fresh  strawberry  beds,  to  prepare  their  plants  a  few 
weeks  ahead  by  layering  them  in  pots.  Two  to  four  hun- 
dred plants  are  all  that  an  ordinary  family  will  need,  and 
two  or  three  hours'  work  would  be  all  the  time  required 
to  layer  the  plants  in  the  pots.  One  hundred  plants  so 
prepared,  will  give  more  fruit  the  first  season  than  1,000 
plants  planted  in  the  usual  way,  and  the  plant  forms 
a  stool  quicker,  and  much  less  time  is  expended  in  keep- 
ing them  clean.  The  use  of  layered  plants  is  recom- 
mended specially  for  fall  planting,  and  the  sooner  it  is 
done  in  fall  the  better ;  plant  in  August  if  possible. 

In  spring  the  use  of  potted  plants  would  have  no  spe- 
cial advantage,  as  if  planted  in  April  or  May,  they  would 


156  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

have  all  the  summer  to  grow,  but  of  course  no  fruit  can 
be  expected  the  season  of  planting.  For  this  reason,  it 
will  be  seen  that  to  secure  a  crop  quickly,  the  time  to 
plant  is  in  August  or  September,  and  from  plants  that 
have  been  layered  in  pots.  There  is  no  arbitrary  rule  for 
the  distance  apart  at  which  strawberry  plants  should  be 
set,  but  if  the  ground  has  been  prepared  as  advised, 
the  finest  fruit  will  be  had  by  giving  them  plenty  of 
room.  For  our  own  use  we  usually  set  400  plants  annu- 
ally in  August,  at  two  feet  apart  between  the  rows,  and 
eighteen  inches  between  the  plants,  and  gather  about  200 
quarts  of  splendid  fruit.  If  the  ground  is  limited  they 
may  be  planted  at  half  the  above  distance,  particularly  if 
set  late  in  fall.  There  is  one  very  important  point  in 
strawberry  culture  that  should  never  be  neglected ;  that 
is,  that  the  beds  be  entirely  covered  with  hay,  straw,  or 
leaves,  to  the  depth  of  three  or  four  inches.  This  cov- 
ering should  not  be  put  on,  however,  before  the  approach 
of  severe  weather,  in  this  district  about  the  middle  of  De- 
cember. This  covering  should  not  be  taken  off  in  spring ; 
it  is  only  necessary  to  go  over  the  beds  as  soon  as  growth 
begins  in  spring,  and  pull  the  covering  back  from  the 
plants  only  sufficient  to  expose  the  crown,  allowing  all  to 
remain  on  the  bed.  This  covering  serves  several  purpo- 
ses. It  keeps  the  roots  warm  until  the  plants  start  to 
grow,  it  keeps  the  fruit  clean  when  ripe,  it  prevents  the 
growth  of  weeds,  and  finally  acts  as  a  mulch  to  keep  the 
soil  from  drying  in  hot  weather.  Although  strawberry 
beds  will  remain  in  bearing  for  a  number  of  years,  the 
fruit  is  always  largest  and  finest  the  first  season  of  bear- 
ing, gradually  getting  smaller  as  the '-plants  get  older, 
hence  it  is  desirable  to  provide  for  a  succession,  if  not 
every  year,  at  least  every  second  year.  For  garden  cul- 
ture in  this,  as  in  all  other  fruits,  it  is  unwise  to  use  any 
but  fully  tested  varieties,  three  or  four  of  which,  are 
Sufficient. 


THE  STRAWBERRY.  157 

VARIETIES  OF  THE  STRAWBERRY. 

Triomplie  de  Gand  is  one  of  the  favorite  varieties  ;  it  is 
of  large  size,  fine  flavor,  and  a  fair  bearer.  It  requires  a 
heavy  soil. 

Wilson's  Seedling  is  a  variety  better  known  than  any 
other  sort ;  it  bears  large  crops,  but  is  very  sour.  It  is 
much  used  for  preserving. 

Champion. — A  berry  of  an  immense  size,  and  beautiful 
dark  crimson  appearance,  an  abundant  bearer,  but  not 
so  rich  in  flavor  as  some  others. 

Charles  Downing. — This  variety  is  likely  to  take  the 
place  of  the  Wilson,  as  it  has  all  the  productiveness  of 
that ;  succeeds  on  all  soils,  and  a  much  better  berry. 

Kentucky. — Is  the  latest  variety,  and  by  planting  it 
with  earlier  sorts,  will  extend  the  season  several  days. 

Black  Defiance. — This  is  a  first-class  fruit  in  every  re- 
spect, large,  productive,  and  of  high  flavor ;  while  it3 
dark  color  unfits  it  for  market,  it  is  one  of  the  best  for 
the  private  garden. 

Seth  Boy  den. — One  of  the  largest  berries,  very  produc- 
tive, sweet,  but  not  very  high  flavored ;  its  long  neck 
allows  it  to  be  hulled  very  readily. 

FORCING   STRAWBERRIES. 

Those  who  have  a  greenhouse  often  wish  to  force  straw- 
berries into  fruit  several  weeks  in  advance  of  the  time 
that  they  will  be  ripe  in  the  open  air.  It  may  be  done  in 
a  frame  or  pit.  The  young  runners  must  be  first  layered 
in  pots,  as  already  described,  as  early  as  runners  are 
formed,  and  as  soon  as  the  small  pots  are  filled  with  roots, 
they  must  be  shifted  into  larger  ones,  say  six  inches  in 
diameter,  the  runners  being  pinched  off  as  they  appear, 
so  as  to  throw  the  whole  strength  of  the  plant  into  the 
fruiting  crown.  The  soil  in  which  to  pot  strawberries  for 


158  GAEDENIKG  FOE   PLEASUEE. 

forcing  is  the  one  we  recommend  for  nearly  all  plants ; 
three  parts  rotted  sods,  and  one  part  rotted  manure. 
The  potted  strawberries  should  be  placed  on  boards, 
flagging,  or  a  layer  of  coal  ashes,  to  prevent  the  earth- 
worms from  getting  in  at  the  bottom  of  the  pots.  At 
first,  after  being  shifted,  they  should  be  set  closely  to- 
gether, but  as  they  grow  they  must  be  spread  apart,  as  it 
is  necessary  that  the  air  pass  around  the  pots  to  ripen  the 
roots.  Of  course  the  necessary  attention  to  water  is  aa 
important  with  these  as  with  other  plants  in  pots.  They 
may  thus  stand  in  the  open  air  until  November,  when 
the  pots  may  be  plunged  in  dry  leaves  to  prevent  their  be- 
ing broken  by  frost ;  and  the  tops  also  covered  an  inch  or 
two  with  the  same  material ;  as  cold  weather  advances, 
they  may  be  taken  in  at  intervals  of  two  weeks  or  so  and 
placed  on  the  shelves  of  a  greenhouse,  near  the  glass, 
where  the  temperature  will  average  at  night  50  degrees, 
and  if  due  attention  to  watering  has  been  given,  a  crop 
will  be  the  result,  such  as  will  well  repay  the  labor, 
not  only  as  fruit,  but  the  plants  so  loaded  will  them- 
selves be  beautiful  greenhouse  ornaments.  Good  vari- 
eties for  forcing  are  Triomphe  de  Gand  and  Champion. 

RASPBERRY. 

To  have  the  Raspberry  in  perfection,  the  same  prepara- 
tion of  soil  is  necessary  as  for  the  Strawberry.  The  canes 
or  shoots  of  the  Raspberry  are  biennial ;  that  is,  the  cane 
or  shoot  that  is  formed  one  season,  bears  fruit  the  next 
season,  and  dies  off  after  fruiting,  giving  place  to  the 
young  cane  that  is  to  fruit  the  following  season,  and 
so  on.  The  distances  apart  to  plant  the  Raspberry  for 
garden  culture,  may  be,  if  in  rows,  five  feet  apart,  with 
the  plants  two  feet  apart  in  the  row,  or  if  in  separate 
stools  or  hills,  they  may  be  set  four  feet  each  way.  If 
planted  at  distances  of  four  feet  apart,  three  plants  may 
be  put  in  each  "hill,"  which  will  quicker  secure  a  crop. 


KASPBEEEY.  159 

They  may  be  set  either  in  fall  or  in  spring  ;  if  in  fall,  a 
covering  of  four  or  five  inches  of  litter  should  be  spread 
over  the  roots  to  prevent  them  from  getting  too  much 
frozen.  And  even  when  the  plants  are  established  and 
growing,  it  is  necessary  in  many  cold  sections,  to  bend 
down  the  canes  and  cover  them  with  pine  branches  or 
some  covering  that  will  shield  them  from  severe  freezing. 
On  the  large  scale  the  canes  are  bent  down  and  covered 
with  a  few  inches  of  earth,  an  operation  that  may  be 
rapidly  performed  by  two  persons.  One  bends  down  the 


Fig.  65.— LAYING  DOWN  RASPBERRY   CANES. 

canes,  (using  a  pitchfork  or  other  implement),  as  shown 
in  the  accompanying  diagram,  (fig.  65),  while  the  other 
throws  sufficient  earth  near  the  tips  to  hold  the  canes  in 
place ;  after  a  row  is  thus  bent  over,  the  two  go  back 
and  cover  with  earth  more  completely.  All  the 
pruning  that  is  necessary  for  the  Raspberry  is  to 
thin  out  the  shoots  in  each  hill  to  four  or  six  ;  this 
is  best  done  in  the  summer  after  the  fruit  is  gathered,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  old  canes  that  have  borne  the 
fruit  should  be  cut  out,  so  that  the  young  shoots,  coming 
forward  to  do  duty  next  season,  may  have  room  to  grow 
freely,  and  develop  and  ripen  the  wood.  When  the  leaves 
drop  in  fall,  the  canes  may  be  shortened  down  a  foot  or 
so,  which  will  complete  the  pruning  process.  To  get  the 
full  benefit  of  all  the  fruit,  it  is  very  necessary  to  stake 
the  Raspberry,  this  may  be  done  either  by  tying  the  canes 
of  each  plant  separately  to  a  stout  stake,  driven  two  feet 


160 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


or  so  in  the  ground,  or  if  grown  in  rows  they  may  be 
tied  to  wires  running  along  the  rows  ;  the  wires  should 
be  stretched  between  two  stout  posts,  one  at  each  end  of 
the  row,  and  three  feet  more  or  less  above  the  ground, 
according  to  variety  ;  to  prevent  the  wire  from  sagging, 
stakes  should  be  driven  into  the  ground  directly  under  it, 
at  intervals  of  six  or  ten  feet ;  the  wire  is  attached  to 
these  by  means  of  staples  placed  over  it  and  driven  into 
the  ends  of  the 
stakes.  The  di- 
agram, fig.  66, 
shows  the  meth- 
od of  training 
to  the  wire  j  the 
longer  canes  at 
the  right  and 
left  are  the 
canes  which  are 
to  fruit  the  cur- 
rent year ;  these 
are  tied  out  as 
there  shown, 
while  the  new 
shoots,  which 


Fig.  66.— TRAINING  RASPBERRIES  TO  A  WIRE. 


are  to  furnish  canes  for  the  next  year's  fruiting,  grow  up 
in  the  center,  and  as  soon  as  tall  enough  are  tied  to  the 
wire ;  after  the  outer  canes  have  fruited,  they  are  cut 
away  to  give  the  others  more  room. 

The  varieties  are  very  numerous,  those  named  below 
are  such  as  will  be  most  satisfactory  for  private  use. 
From  100  to  200  hills  or  plants,  of  all  varieties,  will  usu- 
ally be  sufficient  for  most  families. 

Fastolff. — A  large  crimson  fruit  of  delicious  flavor. 

BrinckWs  Orange. — An  orange  colored  berry  of  large 
size,  very  productive,  and  of  excellent  flavor. 

Clarice. — Not  quite  so  large  as  the  Fastolff,  but  of 


BLACKBERRY.  161 

strong,  robust  habit,  enduring  well  the  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold. 

Philadelphia, — One  of  the  hardiest  and  most  produc- 
tive, growing  in  soils  and  situations  where  the  others 
would  fail.  It  is  of  rather  poor  quality,  but  is  useful  for 

'the  above  reasons. 

/     Catawissa. — A  fall-bearing  variety  of    medium  size, 
color  purplish  crimson,  medium  flavor. 

BLACK    CAPS. 

Black-caps  or  Black  Kaspberries  have  become  very 
popular  of  late  years,  many  persons  being  fond  of  their 
peculiar  flavor.  They  belong  to  a  distinct  species  from 
the  ordinary  Kaspberries ;  the  plants  make  no  suckers, 
but  propagate  themselves  by  taking  root  at  the  ends  of 
the  long  branches,  which  in  the  fall,  if  allowed  to  grow 
at  will,  bend  over  and  reach  the  earth.  They  throw  up 
shoots  from  the  base  of  the  plant  which  take  the  place  of 
those  which  have  already  borne  a  crop.  In  gardens 
where  there  is  no  desire  to  propagate  the  plants,  the 
growing  shoots  should  be  pinched  off  when  they  get 
three  or  four  feet  high,  and  any  side-shoots  they  may 
throw  off  are  stopped  by  pinching  when  they  are  about 
18  inches  long.  The  bearing  wood  is  thinned  oat  after 
the  fruit  is  off. 

Mammoth  Cluster  is  considered  the  most  productive 
of  all  the  numerous  varieties. 

Thorriless. — This  is  preferable  to  the  others  in  being 
nearly  free  from  spines,  and  though  the  fruit  is  not  quite 
so  large,  it  is  much  more  easily  gathered. 

BLACKBERRY. 

The  cultivation  of  the  Blackberry  is  nearly  similar  to 
that  of  the  Kaspberry,  except  that  it  should  be  planted 
about  one-third  farther  apart,  and  it  being  hardier,  there 
is  no  need  for  covering  it  in  winter.  As  it  has  a  more 


162  GARDENING   FOB  PLEASURE. 

vigorous  growth,  it  is  sometimes  set  in  any  out  of  the 
way  corner,  and  in  almost  any  soil ;  but  it  will  amply 
repay  generous  cultivation  with  finer  fruit.  The  man- 
ner of  growth  is  the  same  as  the  Raspberry,  and  when 
the  fruit  is  picked,  the  old  canes  are  to  be  cut  out  to  give 
the  new  ones  a  chance.  The  new  shoots  are  very  vigorous 
growers,  and  when  they  reach  the  hight  of  five,  or  at 
most,  six  feet,  they  should  be  stopped  by  pinching  ;  this 
will  cause  an  abundance  of  side  shoots  to  start  which  are 
to  be  pinched  when  about  18  inches  long.  This  treat- 
ment increases  the  productiveness  of  the  plants  and  keeps 
the  fruit  within  reach.  The  bushes  should  be  kept  tied 
to  stout  stakes  or  wires,  as  advised  for  the  Raspberry. 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  popular  kinds  : 

Kittatinny. — An  immensely  large  berry  of  excellent 
flavor,  of  deep,  shiny  black  color,  one  of  the  very  best 
for  family  use. 

Wilson's  Early. — One  of  the  earliest  varieties,  ripen- 
ing a  week  or  more  before  the  Kittatinny,  quite  as  large, 
and  of  excellent  quality. 

Cut-leaved. — The  merit  of  this  variety  is  its  lateness  of 
ripening,  coming  in  just  when  the  others  are  done  fruit- 
ing. It  is  of  large  size,  and  esteemed  by  many,  while 
others  do  not  like  its  very  distinct  and  peculiar  flavor. 

CURRANTS. 

The  Currant  is  useful  both  for  dessert  and  for  preserv- 
ing purposes.  An  immense  weight  of  fruit  is  obtained 
for  the  space  it  occupies,  and  the  ease  of  its  culture  makes 
it  common  in  every  garden.  The  red  and  white  varieties 
of  Currants  may  be  planted  three  or  four  feet  apart  each 
way,  the  black  at  four  or  five  feet  apart.  Pruning  is 
done  in  fall  by  cutting  off  about  one-third  of  the  young 
growth  of  the  previous  summer,  and  thinning  out  old 
shoots  when  the  plant  gets  too  thick.  All  are  trained  in 


GOOSEBEREY.  163 

low  bush  form,  the  whites  and  reds  usually  from  three  to 
four  feet  high  and  wide,  and  the  black  four  to  six  feet. 
An  insect  known  as  the  currant-worm  is  often  very  de- 
structive. On  its  first  appearance,  if  confined  to  a  few 
leaves,  these  should  be  cut  off,  shoot  and  all,  and  de- 
stroyed. If  they  threaten  to  be  troublesome,  powdered 
white  Hellebore,  either  dusted  on,  or  mixed  four  ounces 
to  a  pailful  of  water  and  applied  with  a  syringe,  will  de- 
stroy them  at  once. 

Black  Naples. — This  is  the  favorite  black  variety,  and 
is  used  almost  exclusively  for  jams  and  jellies.  The 
black  varieties  are  much  less  grown  here  than  in  Europe, 
but  the  taste  for  them  is  increasing. 

Red  Dutch. — Color  of  berries  deep  red,  of  average  size, 
flavor  excellent. 

White  Grape. — Berries  large,  of  a  yellowish-white 
color.  The  flavor  of  this  variety  is  less  acid  than  any 
other  ;  excellent  for  dessert. 

Versailles. — The  fruit  much  larger  than  the  Eed 
Dutch,  and  the  best  flavored  of  all  the  large-berried  kinds. 

Cherry. — Berries  larger  than  that  of  any  other  sort, 
but  too  acid  for  most  tastes  ;  only  suitable  for  jelly. 

GOOSEBERRY. 

The  Gooseberry  is  a  fruit  better  suited  for  the  climate 
of  Britain  than  for  ours,  and  it  is  never  seen  here  in  the 
perfection  it  attains  there.  It  ripens  just  when  our  hot- 
test weather  occurs,  forcing  it  unnaturally  to  maturity, 
and  hence  the  absence  of  the  size  and  flavor  it  attains 
when  ripened  at  a  lower  temperature.  The  native  varie- 
ties, though  far  inferior  in  quality,  are  usually  more  free 
from  mildew,  and  are  therefore  most  desirable  for  culti- 
vation here,  as  the  fruit  with  us  is  more  used  in  the  green 
than  in  the  ripe  state.  Gooseberries  are  planted  from 


164  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

three  to  four  feet  apart,  and  are  treated  in  all  other  re- 
spects like  Currant  bushes. 

Downing. — A  native  variety  of  medium  size,  greenish- 
white  when  ripe,  excellent  quality. 

Houghton's  Seedling. — Also  a  native  variety,  size  me- 
dium, color  red,  flavor  average. 

Of  the  foreign  varieties  among  Reds  may  be  named  as 
leading  sorts,  Warrington,  Champion,  Waterloo;  of 
Greens,  Green  Globe,  Melville,  Green  Gage ;  of  Yellows, 
Sulphur,  Champagne,  Golden  Drop ;  of,  Whites,  Crystal, 
Whitesmith,  Dutch. 


FIGS. 


The  Fig  on  account  of  it  not  being  hardy  in  the  north- 
ern states,  is  but  little  cultivated  unless  in  tubs,  which 
are  placed  in  cellars  or  sheds  to  protect  them  during  the 
winter  months,  or  occasionally  on  the  back  wall  of  lean- 
to  graperies  ;  but  in  all  parts  of  the  country  where  the 
thermometer  does  not  get  lower  than  twenty  degrees 
above  zero,  they  can  be  grown  freely  in  the  open  air 
without  protection.  It  is  hardly  ever  necessary  to  prune 
the  Fig,  except  to  regulate  its  shape  by  cutting  back  any 
extra  strong  shoots.  In  sections  of  the  country  such  as 
Maryland,  or  West  Virginia,  or  Delaware,  where  it  may 
require  slight  protection  when  grown  in  the  open  air,  it 
should  be  planted  against  a  wall  or  fence,  and  trained 
against  it ;  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather  it  should  be 
laid  down  and  covered  as  recommended  for  hardy  grapes. 
When  grown  in  tubs  to  be  kept  in  cellars,  sheds,  or  green- 
house pits,  they  should  be  placed  under  cover  in  this 
latitude  early  in  November,  kept  as  dry  as  possible  with- 
out shrivelling,  and  set  out  in  the  open  air  again  in 
May.  The  soil  and  general  treatment  for  plants  grown 
in  the  open  air  in  pots  or  tubs  will  be  suitable  for  them. 


QUINCE — CHERBY.  165 

There  are  numerous  sorts  in  cultivation  from  which  we 
select  the  following  : 

Wliite  Genoa. — Large  roundish,  yellow  skin  ;  flesh  red- 
ish-pink,  excellent  flavor. 

Brown  Turkey. — Pear  shaped,  average  size,  brown 
skin  ;  flesh  red,  rich  flavor. 

Early  Violet. — Skin  brownish-red ;  flesh  reddish-crim- 
son, delicious  flavor;  fruit  rather  small;  one  of  the  hardiest. 

Brown  Ischia. — Size  large,  skin  yellowish-brown  ;  flesh 
violet,  sweet  and  luscious,  very  prolific. 

QUINCE. 

A  few  Quince  trees  should  be  planted  in  every  garden 
where  there  is  any  pretension  to  a  collection  of  fruits.  It 
is  a  tree  requiring  but  little  attention,  and  for  that  reason 
is  often  neglected,  and  very  unsightly  specimens  are  seen. 
The  tree  is  very  ornamental  in  flower  and  fruit,  and  by  a 
little  attention  to  pruning,  a  handsome  head  may  be 
formed,  though  equally  luxuriant  crops  are  seen  on 
trees  that  have  been  untouched  for  years.  They  may  be 
planted  eight  or  ten  feet  apart.  In  varieties  the  kind  in 
most  general  use  is  the 

Apple-shaped  or  Orange. — A  large  round  variety, 
bright  golden-yellow. 

Pear-shaped  is  larger,  color  greenish-yellow,  and  its 
shape  being  more  pear-like,  readily  distinguishes  it  from 
the  other  and  better  variety. 

Rea's  Seedling. — A  variety  not  very  abundant  as  yet, 
is  the  largest  and  finest  of  all. 

CHERRY. 

The  Cherry-tree  begins  to  bear  usually  in  two  or  three 
years  after  planting  trees  of  the  size  sold  at  the  nurseries, 


166  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

and  continues  to  annually  enlarge  in  growth  and  produc- 
tiveness until  it  often  attains  a  larger  size  than  most  of 
our  fruit-trees.  The  Cherry  grows  freely  in  almost  any 
soil  that  is  free  from  moisture,  preferring,  however,  like 
most  other  fruits,  a  deep  loamy  soil.  The  tree  may  be 
trained  as  desired,  either  in  pyramidal  form  or  with  a 
round  top,  by  pruning  and  directing  the  shoots.  The 
distance  apart  may  be  ten  or  twelve  feet.  Varieties  : 

Black  Tartarian. — Deep  purplish -black,  very  large  ; 
fine  flesh,  unsurpassed  in  quality  ;  last  of  June. 

RocJcport. — Very  large,  amber-yellow,  dotted  red ;  flesh 
firm,  sweet  and  excellent ;  ripens  in  June. 

Coe's  Transparent.- — Color  pale-amber-yellow  ;  spotted 
with  pink  ;  flesh  tender,  sweet,  and  of  fine  flavor  ;  ripens 
middle  of  June. 

May  Duke. — Color  dark-red,  size  medium,  quality  ex- 
cellent ;  ripens  early  in  June. 

Morello. — A  sub-acid  variety  of  medium  size,  color 
bright-red,  changing  to  darker  color  when  fully  ripe ; 
hangs  long  on  the  tree,  mainly  used  for  pies  and  pre- 
serving. 

PLUM. 

The  cultivation  of  the  Plum  is  rendered  nearly  useless 
in  most  places  by  the  attacks  of  the  Curculio,  or  Plum 
Weevil.  Every  conceivable  application  to  the  trees  has 
been  tried  without  any  satisfactory  result.  The  only 
thing  which  will  effectually  save  a  crop  in  the  districts 
infested  by  this  insect,  is  to  jar  the  tree  in  the  morning 
or  in  cool  days,  first  spreading  sheets  under  the  trees  to 
catch  the  weevils,  after  which  they  may  be  burned.  If 
this  is  begun  as  soon  as  the  plums  are  formed,  and  per- 
sisted in  every  few  days  until  they  are  ripe,  a  large  share  of 
the  crop  may  be  saved.  This  may  be  thought  to  be  pay- 
ing rather  dear  for  a  crop  of  plums,  but  it  is  really  the 


PLUM.  167 

only  way  it  can  be  secured.  Many  years  ago  the  crop  of 
a  plum  orchard  under  our  charge  numbering  over  a  hun- 
dred large  trees,  was  saved  by  this  process,  while  all  other 
plums  in  the  district  where  the  jarring  of  the  trees  was 
not  resorted  to,  were  completely  destroyed.  This  plan 
was  recommended  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  and  no 
other  practicable  method  has  since  been  presented. 
It  has  been  recommended  by  some  to  plant  the  trees  on 
the  bank  of  a  pond  or  running  stream,  and  train  them  to 
overhang  the  water,  also  to  pave  or  cement  around  the 
roots  so  that  the  insect  cannot  burrow,  but  these  plans 
would  be  often  impossible,  and  are  useless.  Trees  upon 
stiff,  clayey  soils  are  more  exempt  from  the  ravages  of  the 
Curculio  than  those  upon  light  ones,  probably  for  the 
reason  that  the  insect  in  the  grub  or  larvae  state  cannot 
penetrate  them  so  readily,  as  they  must  enter  the  ground 
to  become  perfect  insects.  The  average  distance  at  which 
the  Plum  maybe  planted  is  from  ten  to  twelve  feet.  The 
following  are  distinct  and  fine  sorts. 

Orleans. — Color  purple,  with  a  rich  blue  bloom,  size 
medium  ;  flesh  deep  yellow,  flavor  of  first  quality  ;  cling- 
stone ;  ripens  in  August. 

Washington. — Color  yellow,  marbled  with  red  next  the 
sun  ;  large  size  ;  flesh  firm,  sweet,  and  rich  ;  freestone  ; 
ripens  first  of  September. 

Green  Gage. — A  well  known  variety,  rather  small  in 
size,  but  of  exquisite  flavor,  color  greenish-yellow,  spotted 
with  red  on  the  sunny  side  ;  freestone ;  ripens  early  in 
August. 

Columbia. — Of  the  largest  size,  color  brownish-purple  ; 
flesh  yellow,  sweet,  and  finely  flavored  ;  freestone  ;  ripens 
the  last  of  August.  * 

Golden  Drop.- — A  very  old  and  well  known  sort,  color 
golden-yellow  with  red  spots  next  the  sun  ;  large,  oval ; 


168  GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 

rich  and  sweet  yellowish  flesh ;  clingstone  ;  ripens  middle 
of  September. 

PEACH. 

The  Peach  prefers  the  light,  dry,  and  warm  soils, 
known  as  sandy  loams.  The  tree  is  shortlived  in  most 
sections,  and  attains  its  best  fruiting  condition  usually 
when  from  five  to  nine  years  old.  The  tree  is  greatly 
benefitted  by  pruning  ;  the  growth  of  the  previous  sea- 
son should  be  shortened  about  one-third  ;  this,  if  annually 
followed  from  the  time  the  trees  are  set,  will  give  them 
compact  heads  instead  of  open,  straggling  ones,  the 
branches  of  which  will  break  down  with  the  first  full 
crop  of  fruit.  In  the  peach-growing  districts  the  culti- 
vators do  not  expect  more  than  three  crops  in  five  years, 
and  if  they  get  two  full  crops  in  that  time  they  are  con- 
tent, and  amateurs  should  expect  no  more.  When  a  crop 
sets  at  all  there  is  usually  more  fruit  than  the  tree  can 
carry  and  ripen ;  no  fruit  needs  severe  thinning  more 
than  the  peach.  In  bearing  seasons  half  or  two-thirds  of 
those  which  set  may  be  removed  with  benefit  to  the  rest. 
"When  a  tree  appears  sickly  with  yellow  foliage,  dig  it  up 
at  once.  The  distance  apart  may  be  from  eight  to  ten 
feet.  Among  the  favorite  varieties  for  garden  culture 
may  be  named 

Early  Beatrice.—  One  of  Mr.  Eivers'  seedlings,  and  so 
far  as  tried  in  this  country  promises  to  be  a  valuable 
early  sort ;  its  size  is  small,  but  quality  good  ;  freestone. 

Holds  Early. — A  very  early  peach,  of  fair  size  and 
great  beauty,  but  has  the  fault  that  it  in  some  localities 
rots  just  as  it  begins  to  ripen,  a  difficulty  probably  due  to 
overbearing  rather  than  to  locality ;  freestone,  excellent. 

Columbia. — Large,  round,  color  yellow  and  red, 
streaked  with  dark-crimson  ;  flesh  yellow,  rich,  and  juicy, 
flavor  excellent ;  freestone  ;  ripens  in  September. 


NECTARINES.  160 

Crawford's  Early. — Large,  roundish,  color  yellow, 
tinged  with  red  ;  flesh  yellow,  rich,  and  sweet ;  ripens 
last  of  August ;  freestone. 

Crawford's  Late. — Similar  in  appearance,  but  ripening 
three  weeks  later. 

Cooledge's  Favorite. — Size  medium,  roundish  oval, 
color  clear  white  with  crimson  cheek  ;  flesh  rich,  juicy, 
and  of  first  quality  ;  ripens  in  August ;  freestone. 

Honest  John,  or  Early  York. — Large,  roundish,  white 
with  red  cheek ;  flesh  white,  very  juicy,  excellent  flavor ; 
middle  of  August;  freestone. 

Morris  White. — A  well  known  variety,  size  medium, 
color  greenish-white,  flavor  average.  The  variety  mostly 
used  for  preserving  ;  middle  of  September  ;  freestone. 

Malacatune. — Fruit  large,  yellow,  with  dark  red  cheek ; 
flesh  orange-yellow,  flavor  excellent ;  middle  of  Septem- 
ber ;  freestone. 

NECTAEINES. 

Nectarines  are  only  smooth  skinned  peaches,  requiring 
in  all  respects  similar  treatment  to  the  peach.  They  are 
but  little  grown  in  this  country,  as  they  are  equally  lia- 
ble to  injury  by  the  attacks  of  the  Plum  Curculio,  with 
the  Plum  itself.  The  same  treatment  recommended 
for  its  destruction  in  Plums,  must  be  applied  to  the 
Nectarine.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  flavor  of  some 
varieties  of  Nectarines  differing  from  that  of  any  of  the 
peaches,  and  by  some  they  are  greatly  preferred  to  any 
peach  in  flavor.  The  successful  varieties  are  not  numerous. 

Early  Newington. — Large,  roundish  oval,  greenish- 
yellow  mottled  red;  flesh  yellowish-white  ;  September; 
cling. 

Hunfs  Tawny. — Large,  round,  amber-yellow  with  red 
cheek  ;  flesh  orange,  melting,  flavor  excellent ;  ripens  in 
August ;  freestone. 
8 


170  GARDENING   FOE   PLEASURE. 

Boston. — Large,  oval,  yellow  with  mottled  crimson 
cheek  ;  flesh  yellow,  excellent  quality ;  September ;  free- 
stone. 

APRICOT. 

The  Apricot  is  closely  related  to  the  peach,  but  belongs 
to  another  species ;  it  is  less  juicy,  and  has  a  flavor 
quite  distinct  from,  and  by  some  preferred  to,  that  of  the 
peach.  The  blighting  Curculio  attacks  the  Apricot  also, 
and  its  culture  can  only  be  successful  by  combating  the 
difficulties  that  attend  that  of  the  plum,  unless  in  special 
locations  that  seem  few  and  far  between.  The  varieties  are 

Moorpark. — Size  large  as  an  average  peach,  yellow 
with  red  cheek  ;  flesh  orange,  sweet,  and  of  exquisite 
flavor ;  ripens  in  July. 

Orange. — Pale  yellow  with  red  cheek,  size  medium  ; 
ripens  end  of  July. 

Turkey. — Large,  deep  yellow,  shaded  orange ;  flesh 
pale-yellow,  firm,  rich,  and  sweet ;  ripens  in  August. 

APPLE. 

The  apple  can  only  be  grown  in  gardens  as  a  dwarf, 
either  kept  in  a  bush  form  or  trained  as  a  pyramid  or 
other  shape.  The  dwarf  trees  are  made  so  by  grafting  on 
dwarfing  stocks,  while  the  varieties  are  the  same  as  those 
found  in  the  large  trees  of  the  orchard.  Two  sorts  of 
dwarfing  stocks  are  used  by  nurserymen,  the  Doucin  and 
Paradise.  Trees  upon  the  Doucin  will  ultimately  grow 
quite  large,  and  as  the  Paradise  is  the  only  stock  which 
makes  really  dwarf  trees,  the  amateur  who  wishes  to 
grow  dwarf  apple-trees  should  make  sure  that  they  are 
worked  on  Paradise  stocks.  Of  course  trees  of  this  kind 
are  not  advised  as  a  source  of  fruit,  but  there  can  scarcely 
be  a  handsomer  object  in  the  garden  than  a  bush  three 
feet  high,  and  about  the  same  through,  loaded  with  enor- 


APPLE — PEARS.  171 

mous  apples.  Dwarf  apple-trees  may  be  planted  six 
feet  apart  each  way,  while  ordinary  trees  in  the  orchard 
are  given  15  to  30  feet,  or  even  40  feet.  The  following 
sorts  are  recommended  for  garden  culture.  For  descrip- 
tions see  nursery  catalogues.  Red  Astrachan,  Alexander, 
Sweet  Bough,  Fall  Pippin,  Gravenstein,  Maiden's  Blush, 
Porter,  Eambo,  Northern  Spy,  Mother,  Twenty  Ounce, 
Beauty  of  Kent,  Hawthornden,  Spitzenberg,  Jonathan, 
King  of  Tompkins  County,  Keswick  Codlin,  Lady  Apple, 
Eed  Canada,  Swaar. 

PEARS, 

Like  apples,  are  grown  as  dwarfs  and  standards.  The 
former  being  planted  from  eight  to  ten  feet  apart,  the 
latter  from  ten  to  twelve  feet.  The  dwarfs,  budded  on 
the  quince  stock,  are  mostly  used  for  garden  culture,  as 
from  their  habit  they  are  more  suitable,  besides  having 
the  invaluable  quality  of  coming  quicker  into  bearing. 
Time  was  when  the  adage  went,  "  He  that  plants  pears, 
plants  for  his  heirs,"  but  this  is  now  no  more  applicable 
to  the  pear  than  to  the  peach,  for  we  now  have  fine  crops 
of  pears  budded  on  the  quince  in  three  to  five  years  from 
the  time  of  planting.  The  trees  may  be  grown  as 
pyramids,  or  in  the  bush  form,  or  in  small  gardens, 
pear,  peach,  and  other  trees  are  successfully  trained 
in  what  is  called  the  oblique  cordon,  which  allows 
a  number  of  varieties  to  be  grown  in  a  small  space. 
Only  a  general  outline  of  the  method  can  be  given 
here,  referring  for  fuller  details  to  Barry's  and  other 
works  on  fruit  culture.  A  trellis  is  built  about  8  feet 
high,  by  nailing  a  strong  top  and  bottom  rail  to  posts, 
which  should  be  about  8  feet  apart.  Slats  of  inch 
stuff  are  put  on  between  the  two  rails  at  an  angle  of  30°  ; 
these  are  fastened  on  with  screws,  as  when  the  trees 
have  reached  the  top,  the  slats  are  to  be  brought  down  to 
45°,  and  they  should  be  long  enough  to  allow  for  doing 


172 


GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 


this.  Young  trees  are  set  in  an  inclined  position  in  a 
line  with  these  slats,  which  are  three  feet  apart.  Each 
tree  is  cut  back  to  a  few  buds,  and  one  shoot  allowed  to 
grow  from  the  strongest  bud,  all  the  others  being  re- 
moved. This  shoot  as  it  grows  is  kept  tied  to  the  slat, 
and  when  it  throws  out  side-shoots,  as  it  soon  will, 
they  are  pinched  back  to  three  or  four  leaves,  whenever 
the  shoot  is  sufficiently  developed  to  allow  the  number 
of  the  leaves  to  be  seen.  By  growing  in  this  inclined 


Fig.  67.— CORDON-TRAINING  OF  PEAR  TREES. 

position,  and  by  pinching  every  shoot  back  to  three  or 
four  leaves,  the  tree  is  dwarfed  and  made  to  bear  early, 
and  when  properly  managed,  forms  a  perfect  cordon  or 
garland,  with  fruit  along  its  whole  length.  Fig.  67 
shows  a  portion  of  a  trellis  of  this  kind.  The  following  / 
varieties  are  recommended  for  either  kind  of  training. 
For  descriptions  see  nursery  catalogues.  Bartlett,  Beurre 
d'Anjou,  Duchesse  d'Angoul6me,  Lawrence,  Clapp's 
Favorite,  Beurre  Bosc,  Dana's  Hovey,  Vicar  of  Wink- 
field,  Howell,  Urbaniste,  Seckel,  Winter  Mis,  Brandy- 
wine,  Doyenne  d'  Ete,  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey,  Belle 
Lucrative,  Doyenne  Boussock. 


VEGETABLE    GARDEN. 


COTTAGE  GARDENING — A  DIGRESSION.  175 

CHAPTER    XLIX. 

COTTAGE  GARDENING— A  DIGRESSION. 

Before  taking  up  the  subject  of  vegetable  culture,  I 
will  relate  an  incident  connected  with  cottage  gardening 
that  may  interest  if  it  do»  not  benefit  some  of  those  into 
whose  hands  this  book  may  fall.  About  a  dozen  years  ago 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the  acquaintance  of  a  gen- 
tleman whose  duties  compelled  him  to  be  at  his  desk  in 
a  close  office  in  the  City  of  New  York,  from  9  o'clock  A.  M. 
to  4  P.M.  Being  naturally  of  a  weak  constitution,  his 
sedentary  life  soon  made  him  the  victim  of  dyspepsia  to 
such  a  degree  that  he  felt  that  he  must  soon  resign  his 
situation.  He  was  then  a  man  of  forty,  entirely  ignorant 
of  anything  pertaining  to  country  life,  and  it  was  with 
great  misgivings  and  reluctance  that,  by  the  advice  of 
his  physician,  he  changed  his  home  from  a  closely  built 
part  of  New  York  to  a  cottage  in  the  then  country-like 
suburb  of  Bergen  Heights,  N.  J.  His  means  enabled 
him  to  purchase  a  modest  cottage  built  on  a  lot  50  by 
150  feet ;  he  did  not  want  the  land,  he  said,  but  the  cot- 
tage was  such  as  he  fancied,  and  the  ground  had  to  go 
with  it.  It  was  about  this  time  that  I  formed  his  ac- 
quaintance, through  some  business  transaction,  and  he 
asked  my  professional  advice  as  to  what  he  could  do  with 
his  land,  which  he  had  already  begun  to  consider  some- 
what of  an  incumbrance.  I  replied  to  him  that,  if  I  was 
not  greatly  mistaken,  in  his  little  plot  of  ground  lay  a 
cure  for  all  his  bodily  ills,  and  that  besides  it  could  add 
to  the  comforts  if  not  the  luxuries  of  his  table  if  he  would 
only  work  it.  ( '  I  work  it  ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  You  don't 
suppose  that  these  hands  could  dig  or  delve,"  holding  up 
his  thin  and  bloodless  fingers,  "and  if  they  could  I  know 


176  GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

nothing  about  gardening."    I  told  him  I  thought  neither 
objection  insurmountable  if  he  once  begun. 

The  result  of  our  conversation  was,  that  he  resolved  to 
try,  and  try  he  did  to  a  purpose.  Our  interview  was  in 
March,  and  before  the  end  of  April  he  had  his  lot  all 
nicely  dug  over,  the  labor  being  done  by  his  own  hands 
during  an  hour  and  a  half  each  morning.  His  custom 
was  to  get  up  at  six  o'clock  and  work  at  his  garden  until 
half  past  seven.  This  gave  him  ample  time  to  dress,  get 
breakfast,  and  be  at  his  desk  in  the  city  by  nine.  The 
labor  of  merely  digging  was  (to  him)  heavy  and  rather 
monotonous,  but  he  stuck  to  it  bravely,  and  when  he 
again  presented  himself  before  me  for  plants  and  seeds 
and  information  as  to  what  to  do  with  them,  it  was  with 
some  pride  that  I  saw  my  prescription  had  worked  so 
well,  for  my  friend  then  looked  more  like  a  farmer  than 
a  pallid  clerk.  The  regulating  of  his  little  garden  was  a 
simple  matter,  and  was  done  according  to  the  following 
diagram : 


Cauliflower,  cabbage  and  lettuce. 

Strawberries. 

Cucumbers,  onions,  and  parsley. 

Raspberries. 

Beets,  carrots,  and  parsnips. 

Tomatoes. 

Bush  beans. 

Asparagus  and  Rhubarb. 

During  his  first  season,  of  course,  he  made  some  blun- 
ders and  some  failures,  but  his  interest  in  the  work  in- 
creased year  by  year.  His  family  was  supplied  with  an 
abundance  of  all  the  fresh  vegetables  and  fruits  his  lim- 
ited space  could  admit  of  being  grown — a  supply  that  it 
would  have  taken  at  least  $150  to  purchase  at  retail,  and 
stale  at  that.  But  the  benefit  derived  from  the  cultiva- 


THE  VEGETABLE  GAKDEtf.  177 

tion  of  this  cottage  garden  was  health — strong,  rugged 
health — that  for  the  six  years  he  was  my  neighbor,  never 
once  failed  him. 

I  know  this  case  is  an  extremely  exceptional  one,  for  I 
never  knew  another  man  who  so  resolutely  worked  him- 
self into  health.  There  are  hundreds  of  business  men, 
book-keepers,  salesmen,  clerks,  and  the  like  who  live  in 
the  suburbs  of  all  great  cities,  many  of  whom  can  ill 
afford  to  pay  for  the  keeping  of  the  plots  surrounding 
their  cottages,  but  who  think  they  can  far  less  afford  to 
do  the  work  themselves.  As  a  consequence,  in  nine  cases 
out  of  ten,  the  rear,  at  least,  of  their  suburban  plots  is  a 
wilderness  of  weeds.  But  this  is  not  the  least  of  the 
evils,  the  owner  has  a  certain  amount  of  muscular  force, 
and  this,  be  it  more  or  less,  being  unused,  its  possessor 
pays  the  penalty  of  his  laziness  in  dyspepsia,  and  a  host 
of  other  ills.  The  proofs  are  apparent  everywhere  that 
garden  operations  are  conducive  to  health  and  longevity. 
The  work  is  not  unduly  laborious,  and  when  fairly  en- 
tered into  has  a  never-failing  interest.  The  growing  and 
the  watching  of  the  great  variety  of  plants  gives  a 
healthy  tone  to  the  mind,  while  the  physical  labor  de- 
manded by  cultivation  takes  care  of  the  body. 


CHAPTER    L. 

THE   VEGETABLE   GARDEN. 

It  is  perhaps  best  that  the  space  allotted  to  vegetables 
should  be  at  one  side  of  the  garden,  and  that  for  fruits 
at  the  other,  at  least  in  the  beginning,  though  a  rotation 
of  crops  or  change  of  position  may  be  advantageous  in 
course  of  time.  I  will  give  in  brief  the  culture  of  each 


178  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

vegetable  in  general  use,  placing  them  alphabetically  for 
easy  reference,  and  enumerate  the  leading  varieties. 

ASPARAGUS— (Asparagus  officinalis.) 

Asparagus  should  be  planted  the  first  spring  that  the 
owner  comes  into  possession  of  the  land,  and  if  the  house 
is  yet  to  be  built,  let  the  Asparagus-bed  be  planted  at 
once,  as  it  takes  the  roots  two  or  three  years  to  acquire 
sufficient  strength  to  give  a  crop.  For  an  ordinary  family 
a  bed  of  six  rows  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  three 
feet  apart,  will  be  sufficient,  the  plants  in  the  rows 
being  set  nine  inches  apart.  In  planting  it  is  custo- 
mary to  use  two-year-old  plants,  but  it  often  happens 
that  as  large  a  plant  is  raised  from  seed  in  good 
soils  in  one  year  as  in  a  poorer  soil  in  two  years  ;  in 
such  cases  the  one-year-old  plant  is  preferable.  The 
preparation  of  the  Asparagus  bed  should  be  made  with 
more  care  than  for  most  vegetables,  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  a  permanent  crop  which  ought  to  yield  as  well  at 
the  end  of  twenty-five  as  of  five  years,  if  the  soil  has  been 
well  prepared.  The  asparagus  bed,  to  start  with,  should 
be  on  ground  thoroughly  drained,  either  naturally  or  ar- 
tificially, and  if  choice  can  be  had,  on  a  rather  light  sandy 
loam.  This  should  be  trenched  and  mixed  with  suffi- 
cient manure  to  form  a  coating  of  at  least  six  inches 
thick  over  the  bed  ;  this  manure  should  be  worked  into 
the  soil  by  trenching  to  the  depth  of  two  feet,  as  the  roots 
of  the  plant  will  reach  quite  that  depth  in  a  few  years. 
In  setting,  the  crowns  of  the  plants  should  be  placed  at 
least  three  inches  below  the  surface.  It  makes  but  little 
difference  whether  it  is  planted  in  spring  or  fall ;  if  in 
spring,  it  should  be  done  as  early  as  the  ground  is  dry 
enough  to  work,  and  if  in  fall,  just  as  soon  as  the 
plants  can  be  had,  which  is  usually  in  the  early  part 
of  October.  We  prefer  fall  planting  on  light,;  well- 


ASPARAGUS. 


179 


drained  soils,  for  the  reason  that  if  it  is  done  then,  young 
roots  are  formed,  which  are  ready  to  grow  on  the  ap- 
proach of  spring,  but  if  the  planting  is  done  in  March  or 
April,  this  formation  of  new  roots  has  to  take  place  then, 
and  causes  a  corresponding  delay  in  growth.  Plants  are 
sold  by  market  gardeners  and  seedsmen,  and  as  it  will 
save  a  year  or  two,  to  purchase  them,  it  is  not  worth 
while  to  raise  them  from  seed  in  a  private  garden.  The 
edible  portion  is  the  undeveloped  sfcems,  which  if  cut 
away  as  soon  •  as  they  appear,  are  followed  by  others, 
which  start  from  the  crown  of  the  plant.  The  cutting, 


Fig.  68.— ASPARAGUS. 

if  continued  too  long,  would  finally  exhaust  the  root, 
hence  it  is  customary  to  stop  cutting  as  soon  as  early  peas 
become  plenty,  and  allow  the  remaining  shoots  to  grow 
during  the  remainder  of  the  season,  and  thus  accumulate 
sufficient  strength  in  the  plant  to  allow  it  to  produce  an- 
other crop  of  shoots  the  next  season.  The  engraving, 
(fig.  68),  represents  a  strong  plant  with  the  earth  re- 


180 


GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 


moved  from  the  roots  ;  the  shoots  are  shown  in  different 
stages  of  development,  and  it  will  be  seen  how  readily 
careless  cutting  may  injure  the  buds  which  are  ready  to 
produce  a  succession  of  shoots. 

The  surface  of  the  Aspargus  bed  should  have  a  top- 
dressing  of  three  or  four  inches  of  rough  stable  manure 
every  fall,  (November), 
which  should  be  lightly 
forked  into  the  bed  in 
spring.  The  best  variety 
is  what  is  known  as 
"Van  Sicklen's  Colos- 
sal." In  some  localities 
Asparagus  is  attacked 
by  an  insect  called  the 
Asparagus  Beetle.  The 
best  method  of  getting 
rid  of  this  pest,  that  we 
have  found,  is  to  coop 
up  a  hen  and  let  the 
chickens  pick  up  the 
insects  and  their  eggs. 

ARTICHOKE-GLOBE— 

(Oynara  Scolymus.) 


Fig.  69.— GLOBE  ARTICHOKE. 


The  portion  used  of 
this  plant  is  the  unde- 
veloped flower  cluster, 
or  the  portion  which  is  known  as  the  scales  of  the 
involucre.  They  are  boiled  and  served  with  drawn 
butter,  but  outside  of  France  do  not  seem  to  be  very 
generally  appreciated.  The  plants  are  propagated  first 
by  seeds,  sown  in  a  hot-bed  in  March,  and  planted  out 
at  distances  of  from  two  to  three  feet.  It  is  not 
always  hardy  enough  for  our  winters  in  the  northern 
states,  though  it  proves  so  in  all  latitudes  south  of  Wash- 


ARTICHOKE — BEAN.  181 

ington.  Here  it  is  necessary  on  the  approach  of  winter 
to  draw  the  leaves  together  and  earth  up  around  them, 
and  later  to  cover  the  tops  with  litter. 

ARTICHOKE,  JERUSALEM— (Helianthus  tiiberosus.) 

This  is  an  entirely  different  plant  from  the  above,  but 
as  the  two  are  sometimes  confounded,  we  give  engravings 
of  both.  The  edible  portion  of  this  is  the  tuber,  while 
that  of  the  Globe  Arti- 
choke is  the  scales  sur- 
rounding the  flowers. 
The  tubers  of  the 
Jerusalem  Artichoke 
somewhat  resemble  the  FiS-  ^.-JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE. 
potato  in  appearance,  and  the  plant  produces  immense 
crops.  But  few  persons  in  this  country  like  the  flavor, 
and  it  is  rarely  grown  unless  for  stock  or  as  a  curiosity. 
Its  culture  is  similar  to  the  potato  ;  it  has  stems,  leaves, 
and  flowers,  much  like  the  common  sunflower. 

BEAN,  (Phaseolus  vulgaris  var.  nanw.)— BUSH,  SNAP,  OR  KIDNEY. 

An  indispensable  vegetable,  of  easy  cultivation,  grow- 
ing freely  on  almost  any  soil,  though  on  well  enriched 
land,  it  will  be  more  prolific  in  quantity  and  more  tender 
in  quality.  It  is  a  plant  of  tropical  origin,  and  like  all 
such,  should  not  be  sown  until  the  weather  is  settled  and 
warm,  and  all  danger  from  frost  is  past.  In  this  latitude, 
the  time  of  sowing  should  not  be  sooner  than  the  15th  of 
May.  Sow  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  weeks,  all  through 
the  season,  if  wanted  for  use.  Seed  may  be  sown  in  drills 
18  to  24  inches  apart,  and  three  inches  deep,  dropping 
the  seeds  at  distances  of  two  or  three  inches  in  the  drills, 
and  covering  to  the  general  level.  To  such  as  use  them 
all  through  the  season,  three  or  four  quarts  would  be  re- 


182  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 

quired,  although  a  quart  at  one  sowing  would  give  an  am- 
ple quantity  for  any  average  family.  The  varieties  most 
in  use  at  present  are  Early  Valentine,  Early  China,  Mo- 
hawk, Fejee,  Black  Wax,  and  Refugee. 

BEAN— POLE    OR    RUNNING,    (Phaseolus   vulgaris),  AND    LIMA, 
(Phaseolus  lunatus). 

Pole  Beans  are  usually  cultivated  in  hills  three  or  four 
feet  apart.  The  poles,  (which  are  best  made  of  young 
cedar  trees),  should  be  nine  or  ten  feet  high,  and  firmly 
fixed  at  least  eighteen  inches  deep  in  the  ground,  and  the 
hills  formed  around  them  by  digging  up  the  soil  and 
mixing  it  with  a  shovelful  of  well  rotted  manure,  or  an 
ounce  or  so  of  guano  or  bone-dust,  if  the  stable  manure 
is  not  attainable  ;  but  in  either  case  let  the  mixing  be 
thorough.  The  hills  should  be  but  two  or  three  inches 
above  the  general  level,  and  at  least  eighteen  inches  in 
diameter.  The  term  "hill"  is  an  unfortunate  one,  as  it 
often  leads  inexperienced  persons  to  suppose  that  a  tall 
heap  must  be  made,  and  it  is  a  common  mistake  to  form 
miniature  hills  often  a  foot  or  more  in  hight,  upon  which 
to  sow  seeds  or  set  plants  ;  the  effect  of  this  is  to  confine 
the  roots  to  this  small  high  and  dry  space.  When  the 
word  "  hill"  is  used  in  this  work,  it  is  to  indicate  the 
place  plants  are  to  occupy,  and  unless  some  hight  is 
mentioned,  it  is  not  above  the  general  level.  After  the 
hill  has  been  properly  formed  around  the  pole,  from  five 
to  six  beans  should  be  planted  around  it  at  a  depth  of 
two  inches,  but  the  planting  should  never  be  done  in  this 
latitude  before  the  20th  of  May.  In  all  our  experience 
as  seedsmen,  we  know  of  no  seed  that  is  so  universally 
replanted  as  Lima  Beans.  I  think  it  safe  to  say,  that  at 
least  half  of  all  the  people  who  buy,  plant  before  the 
ground  is  dry  and  warm,  and  then  tell  us  that  the  seed 
must  have  been  bad,  because  it  rotted  in  the  ground.  In 


BEAN — BEET.  183 

the  hurry  of  business  we  have  not  always  time  to  explain 
why  they  rotted,  and  would  here  state  for  the  sake  of  our- 
selves and  cotemporaries,  that  the  reason  why  the  Linias 
fail  to  grow  in  99  cases  out  of  100,  is,  that  they  are  planted 
too  early,  and  that  it  is  no  fault  of  the  seed,  which  is 
rarely  imperfect.  The  proper  method  of  planting  Lima 
Beans  is  to  push  each  one  singly  into  the  soil,  with  the 
eye  downward  ;  the  embryo  is  so  very  broad  and  flat  that 
it  is  difficult  for  it  to  turn  itself  as  smaller  seeds  do  when 
placed  in  a  wrong  position. 

The  Large  White  Lima  is  the  variety  that  is  most 
prized. 

The  Giant  Wax  makes  pods  nine  inches  in  length, 
and  is  a  very  productive  variety. 

The  London  Horticultural  is  used  as  snaps  or  shelled. 

The  Scarlet  Runner  is  a  highly  ornamental  variety, 
producing  dazzling  scarlet  flowers  during  the  whole 
summer.  It  is  used  mainly  as  a  snap  bean.  Lima  Beans 
are  usually  only  planted  once  in  this  latitude,  as  they 
take  nearly  the  whole  season  to  mature.  From  thirty 
to  fifty  poles  are  sufficient  for  ordinary  use ;  this  will  re- 
quire from  one  to  two  quarts  of  seed. 

BEET,  (Beta  vulgaris.) 

Sow  in  shallow  drills  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  apart 
in  April  or  May,  dropping  the  seeds  so  that  they  will  fall 
an  inch  or  so  apart.  When  the  plants  have  grown  to  the 
hight  of  about  two  inches,  thin  out,  so  that  they  will 
stand  four  inches  apart.  When  the  roots  are  three  inches 
in  diameter,  they  are  fit  for  use.  Of  course  they  are  used 
when  much  larger,  but  the  younger  they  are,  the  more 
delicate  and  tender.  The  varieties  cultivated  are  lim- 
ited to  a  few : 


184 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASUEE. 


Early  Egyptian. — A  round,  deep  red  variety,  is   the 
earliest. 

Early  Bassano. — A  light  salmon  colored  variety. 

Early  Blood  Turnip. 
— Later  than  either  of 
the  above,  but  best  for 
general  crop. 

Long  Smooth  Red. — 
A  long  variety,  best  for 
winter  use.  About  six 
ounces  of  seed  will  give 
300  feet  of  row;  enough 
for  ordinary  use  unless 
succession  crops  are 
wanted,  then  double 
the  quantity  will  be 
required. 

BORECOLE  OR  KALE, 

(JBrassica  oleracea  var.) 

The  rather  indefinite 
name  of  " sprouts"  is 
given  to  this  vegetable 
about  New  York.  It 
is  sown  here  in  Sep- 
tember, in  rows  one  foot  apart,  treated  in  every  way  as 
spinach,  and  is  ready  for  use  in  early  spring.  Four 
ounces  of  seed  is  sufficient  to  sow  300  feet  of  row.  Two 
varieties  of  this,  but  little  grown  here,  are  the  "  Scotch 
Kale,"  or  "  Curled  Greens,"  and  the  "  Dwarf  German 
Greens."  The  former  is  of  a  deep  green  color,  the  latter 
bluish  purple,  both  varieties  are  much  curled,  almost 
like  parsley.  The  seeds  of  these  are  sown  in  May,  and 
transplanted  in  July,  just  as  we  do  late  cabbages,  at  dis- 
tances of  two  feet  apart  each  way.  These  "  Greens,"  of 


Fig.  71. — EGYPTIAN  BEET. 


BKOCCOU.  185 

either  variety,  when  touched  by  frost,  are  the  most  ten- 
der and  delicate  of  all  the  cabbage  tribe,  and  it  has  al- 
ways been  a  matter  of  wonder  to  me,  why  their  cultiva- 
tion has  not  been  more  general  in  this  country.  In 
Britain  they  are  used  very  extensively  as  a  winter  vege- 
table. The  most  popular  German  variety  is  Purple  Bore- 
cole. The  most  popular  English  variety  is  Cottager's 
Kale,  very  hardy  and  profitable,  more  weight  being  grown 
of  it  in  the  same  space  than  of  any  other  variety. 

BROCCOLI,    (Brassica  deracea  var.) 

We  persist  in  growing  under  the  two  distinct  names  of 
Broccoli  and  Cauliflower,  plants  which  at  best  are  noth- 
ing more  than  very  nearly  related  varieties.  The  main 
difference  between  them  is,  that  what  we  call  Broccoli, 
is  planted  for  fall  use,  while  that  which  we  call  Cauli- 
flower is  planted  for  spring  or  summer  use  ;  though  in 
this  respect  they  are  frequently  reversed  without  seeming 
to  mind  it.  For  fall  use  the  seed  should  be  sown  in  the 
early  part  of  May,  which  will  give  plants  large  enough  to 
be  set  out  in  July.  Further  south  the  sowing  of  the  seed 
should  be  delayed  from  four  to  six  weeks  later,  and 
the  plants  be  set  out  correspondingly  later.  Here  we 
put  them  out  in  July,  though  further  south  it  may  be 
delayed  to  August  or  September.  In  the  mild  autumn 
weather  of  those  latitudes  this  vegetable  may  be  had  in 
perfection  from  November  to  March,  while  with  us,  if 
planted  out  in  July  it  matures  during  October  and  No- 
vember. The  plants  are  set  at  two  and  a  half  to  three 
feet  apart,  and  as  a  hundred  plants  are  all  that  most 
families  would  use,  it  is  cheaper  to  buy  them,  if  in  a 
section  where  they  are  sold,  than  to  raise  the  plants 
from  seed.  It  requires  an  abundance  of  manure.  The 
varieties  are  : 

White  and  Purple  Cape. — There  is  no  difference  in 


186 


GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 


flavor,  though  the  white  is  the  most  pleasant  looking 
vegetable  when  cooked. 

BRUSSELS  SPROUTS,  (Brassica  okracea  var.) 

This  vegetable,  as  the  engraving  shows,  is  a  variety  of 
the  cabbage  which  forms  scarcely  any  terminal  bud  or 
head,  but  the  buds  along  the  stem,  which  in  the  ordi- 


Fig.  72.— BRUSSELS  SPROUTS. 

nary  cabbage  remain  small,  are  in  this  developed  into 
small  heads,  which  are  the  edible  portion.  This  is  much 
more  used  in  Europe  than  with  us ;  though  it  is  not  suffi- 
ciently hardy  to  endure  our  northern  winters,  it  will 
stand  in  our  latitude  until  Christmas.  Its  cultivation 
is  exactly  similar  in  all  respects  to  that  of  Broccoli,  ex- 


CAULIFLOWER.  187 

cept  that  it  may  be  planted  closer,  say  from  one  and  a 
half  to  two  feet  apart. 

CAULIFLOWER,  (Brassica  okracea  var.) 

There  is  quite  an  ambition  among  amateur  gardeners 
to  raise  early  cauliflower,  but  as  the  conditions  necessary 
to  success  with  this  are  not  quite  so  easy  to  command  as 
with  most  other  vegetables,  probably  not  one  in  three 


Fig.  73.—  CAULIFLOWER. 

who  try  it  succeed.  In  England,  and  most  places  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  it  is  the  most  valued  of  all  vegeta- 
bles, and  is  grown  there  nearly  as  easily  as  early  cabbages. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  temperature  there  is 
on  the  average  ten  degrees  lower  at  the  time  it  matures, 
(June),  than  with  us  ;  besides  their  atmosphere  is  much 
more  humid,  two  conditions  essential  to  its  proper  devel- 
opment. I  will  briefly  state  how  early  cauliflowers  can 
be  most  successfully  grown  here.  First,  the  soil  must 
be  well  broken,  and  pulverized  by  spading  to  at  least  a 
foot  in  depth,  mixing  through  it  a  layer  of  three  or  four 


188  GARDENING   FOE  PLEASURE. 

inches  of  strong,  well  rotted,  stable  manure.  The  plants 
may  be  either  those  from  seed  sown  last  fall  and 
wintered  over  in  cold  frames,  or  else  started  from 
seeds  sown  in  January  or  February,  in  a  hot-bed  or 
greenhouse,  and  planted  in  small  pots  or  boxes,  so 
as  to  make  plants  strong  enough  to  be  set  out  as 
soon  as  the  soil  is  fit  to  work,  which  in  this  latitude 
is  usually  the  lirst  week  in  April.  "We  are  often  applied 
to  for  cauliflower  plants  as  late  as  May,  but  the  chances 
of  their  forming  heads  when  planted  in  May,  are  slim 
indeed.  The  surest  way  to  secure  the  heading  of  cauli- 
flowers is  to  use  what  are  called  hand-glasses,  some  of 
which  are  described  in  the  chapter  on  Implements. 
These  are  usually  made  about  two  feet  square,  which 
gives  room  enough  for  three  or  four  plants  of  cauliflower, 
until  they  are  so  far  forwarded  that  the  glass  can  be  taken 
off.  When  the  hand-fflass  is  used,  the  cauliflowers  may 
be  planted  out  in  any  warm  border  early  in  March  and  cov- 
ered by  them.  This  covering  protects  them  from  frosts 
at  night,  and  gives  the  necessary  increase  of  temperature 
for  growth  during  the  cold  weeks  of  March  and  April ; 
so  that  by  the  first  week  in  May,  if  the  cauliflower  has 
been  properly  hardened  off  by  ventilating,  (by  tilting  up 
the  hand-glasses  on  one  side),  they  may  be  taken  off 
altogether,  and  then  used  to  forward  tomatoes,  melons, 
or  cucumbers,  at  which  date  these  may  be  started,  if 
under  the  protection  of  hand-glasses.  If  the  weather  is 
dry,  the  cauliflowers  will  be  much  benefitted  by  being 
thoroughly  soaked  with  water  twice  or  thrice  a  week ; 
not  a  mere  sprinkling,  which  is  of  no  use,  but  a  complete 
drenching,  so  that  the  water  will  reach  to  the  lowest 
roots.  Those  planted  later  are  set  out  and  treated  in  the 
same  manner  as  cabbages.  The  two  best  varieties  of 
cauliflower  we  have  found  as  yet,  are  the  Dwarf  Erfurt 
and  Early  Paris. 


CABBAGE. 


189 


CABBAGE,  (Brassica  oleracea  var.) 

The  cabbage  is  so  easily  raised  that  but  little  space 
need  be  devoted  to  it 
here ;  like  all  of  its 
tribe,  it  requires  an 
abundance  of  manure 
for  its  full  develop- 
ment. The  early  va- 
rieties should  be  either 
raised  in  cold-frames 
or  in  hot-beds,  as 
stated  for  cauliflow- 
er, and  planted  out  at  Fi^  ^.-CABBAGE-EARLY  WINNINGSTADT. 
distances  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  apart  each  way, 


Fig.  75.— CABBAGE— SAVOY. 

as  early  as  the  ground  is  fit  to  work  in  April.     The  best 


190 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


early  varieties  are  Early  Summer,  Early  Wakefield,  Early 
York,  and  Early  Oxheart.  As  an  intermediate  variety 
the  Winningstadt  is  very  popular  ;  it  has  a  sharply  con- 
ical head,  and  sometimes  grows  quite  large. 

For  late  varieties,  the  seed  should  be  sown  in  May,  and 
the  plants  set  out  in  July  at  two  to  three  feet  apart.  For 

winter  use  the 
large  Drum- 
head is  usually 
grown,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all 
others,  and 
while  the  Curl- 
ed Savoy  is 
vastly  better 
flavored,  not 
one  Savoy  is 
planted  for 
every  thousand 
Drumhea  d. 
The  flavor  of 
the  Savoy  is  as 
superior  to  that 
of  the  Drum- 
head, as  that 
of  a  Bartlett 
to  that  of  a  choke  pear,  and  it  is  altogether  the  best  late 
cabbage  for  family  use. 

CARROT,  (Daucus  Carota.) 

Carrots  are  sown  any  time  from  April  to  June,  in  rows 
one  foot  apart,  covering  the  seed  two  inches  deep.  If  the 
soil  is  light,  they  will  be  better  flavored.  When  the  plants 
are  an  inch  or  so  high,  thin  out  to  three  or  four  inches 
apart.  The  varieties  most  in  use  are  Early  French  Forcing, 
Early  Horn  and  Long  Orange.  Eight  ounces  of  seed  will 


Fig.  76.— VAEIETIES  OF  THE 
CABBOT. 

Fig.  1.— EARLY  FEENCH  FORCING. 
Fig.  2.— EARLY  HORN. 
Fig.  3.— LONG  ORANGE. 


CELERY.  191 

sow  300  feet  of  row,  which,  for  most  families,  would  be 
an  abundance,  both  for  summer  and  winter  use.  Carrots 
are  much  prized  as  food  for  horses  and  cows,  and  if 
wanted  for  this  purpose  in  quantity,  they  should  be  sown 
with  a  seed-drill,  in  rows  one  and  a  half  to  two  feet 
apart ;  about  four  pounds  of  seed  per  acre  is  required. 

CELERY,  (Apium  graveolens.) 

If  I  am  fitted  to  instruct  on  the  cultivation  of  any  veg- 
etable, it  is  this,  as  for  many  years  I  have  cultivated 
nearly  half  a  million  roots  annually,  and  this  experience 
has  resulted  in  greatly  simplifying  the  operation.  The 
seeds  are  sown  on  a  well  pulverized  rich  border,  as  early 
in  the  season  as  the  ground  can  be  worked.  The  bed  is 
kept  clear  of  weeds  until  July,  when  the  plants  are  set 
out  for  the  crop.  But  as  the  seedling  plants  are  rather 
troublesome  to  raise,  the  small  number  wanted  for  private 
use,  can  usually  be  purchased  cheaper  than  they  can  be 
raised  on  a  small  scale,  (they  rarely  cost  more  than  $1  per 
100),  and  if  they  can  be  procured  fresh  from  the  market 
gardeners  in  the  neighborhood,  it  is  never  worth  while  to 
sow  the  seed.  The  European  plan  is  to  make  a  trench 
six  or  eight  inches  deep,  in  which  to  plant  celery,  but 
our  violent  rain  storms  in  summer  soon  showed  us  that 
this  plan  was  not  a  good  one  here,  so  we  set  about  plant- 
ing on  the  level  surface  of  the  ground,  just  as  we  do 
with  all  vegetables.  Celery  is  a  "  gross  feeder,"  and  re- 
quires an  abundance  of  manure,  which,  as  usual,  must  be 
well  mixed  and  incorporated  with  the  soil,  before  the  cel- 
ery is  set  out.  When  the  ground  is  well  prepared,  we 
stretch  a  line  to  the  distance  required,  and  beat  it 
slightly  with  a  spade,  so  that  it  leaves  a  mark  to  show 
where  to  place  the  plants.  These  are  set  out  at  distances 
of  six  inches  between  the  plants,  and  usually  four  feet 
between  the  rows.  Great  care  must  be  taken  in  put- 


192 


GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


ting  out  the  celery,  to  see  that  the  plant  is  set  just  to 
the  depth  of  the  roots,  if  much  deeper,  the  " heart" 
might  he  too  much  covered  up,  which  would  impede  the 
growth.  It  is  also  important  that  the  soil  he  well  packed 
to  the  root  in  planting,  and  if  the  operation  can  be  done 
the  evening,  and  the  plants  copiously  watered,  no 


in 


farther  attention  will  be  required. 

If  planted  in  July,  nothing  is  to  be  done  but  keep  the 
crop  clear  of  weeds  until  September ;  by  that  time  the 
handling  process  is  to  be  begun,  which  consists  in  draw- 
ing the  earth  to  each  side  of  the  celery,  and  pressing  it 


Fig.  77.—"  HANDLING  "  CELERY. 


tightly  to  it,  so  as  to  give  the  leaves  an  upward  growth 
preparatory  to  blanching  for  use.  Supposing  this  hand- 
ling process  is  done  by  the  middle  of  September,  by  the 
first  week  in  October  it  is  ready  for  "  banking  up,"  which 
is  done  by  digging  the  soil  from  between  the  rows  and 
laying  or  banking  it  up  on  each  side  of  the  row  of  celery; 
after  being  so  banked  up  in  October,  it  will  be  ready  for 
use  in  three  or  four  weeks  if  wanted  at  that  time.  But 
if,  as  is  usually  the  case,  it  is  needed  for  winter  use  only, 
and  is  to  be  put  away  in  trenches,  or  in  the  cellar,  as 
will  be  hereafter  described,  all  that  it  requires  is  the 
operation  of  " handling."  If  the  celery  is  to  be  left  in 
the  open  ground  where  it  was  grown,  then  a  heavy  bank 


CELEET. 


193 


must  be  made  on  each  side  of  the  rows,  and  as  cold 
weather  approaches — say  in  this  latitude  by  the  middle 
of  November — an  additional  covering  of  at  least  a  foot 
of  leaves  or  litter,  must  be  closely  packed  against  the 
bank,  to  protect  it  from  frost. 

Perhaps  the  best  wav  to  keep  celery  for  family  use,  is 
in  a  cellar  ;  this  can  be  done  by  storing  it  in  narrow  box- 
es, of  a  depth  a  little  less  than  the  hight  of  the  celery. 
A  few  inches  of  sand  or  soil  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of 
the  box,  and  the  celery  is  packed  upright ;  the  roots 
being  placed  on  the  sand  at  the  bottom,  none  being  put 


Fig.  78.—"  BANKING  UP  "   CELERY. 

between  the  heads.  Boxes  thus  packed  and  placed  in  a 
cool  cellar  in  November,  will  be  blanched  fit  for  use  dur- 
ing January,  February,  and  March,  though  for  succes- 
sion, it  will  be  better  to  put  it  in  the  boxes  from  the 
open  ground  at  three  different  times,  say  October  25th, 
November  10th,  and  November  20th.  Or  if  boxes  are 
not  at  hand,  the  celery  may  be  put  away  on  the  floor  of, 
the  cellar  in  strips  of  nine  or  ten  inches  wide,  separated 
by  spaces  of  the  same  width,  divided  by  boards  of  a 
width  equal  to  the  hight  of  the  celery.  The  reason  for 
dividing  the  celery  in  these  narrow  strips  by  boards,  is  to 
prevent  the  heating,  which  would  take  place  if  placed 
together  in  too  thick  masses.  The  dates  above  given 
9 


194 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


apply,  of  course,  to  the  latitude  of  New  York ;  if 
further  south,  do  the  work  later ;  if  further  north, 
earlier.  If  one  has  no  suitable  cellar,  the  celery  can  be 
very  readily  preserved  in  the  manner  followed  by  market 
gardeners. 

After  it  has  been  " handled"  or  straightened  up,  as 
before  described,  what  is  intended  for  use  by  Christmas, 
should  be  dug  up  by  about  October  25th ;  that  to  be 
used  in  January  and  February,  by  November  10th,  and 
that  for  March  use,  by  November  20th,  which  latter  date 
is  as  late  as  it  can  be  risked  here  ;  although  it  will  stand 
quite  a  sharp  frost,  the  weather  by  the  end  of  November  is 


Fig.  79. — STORING  CELERY  IN  TRENCHES  FOR  WINTER. 

often  severe  enough  to  kill  it,  or  so  freeze  it  in  the  ground 
that  it  cannot  be  dug  up.  The  ground  in  which  it  is 
to  be  preserved  for  winter  use,  must  be  as  dry  as  possi- 
ble, and  so  arranged  that  no  water  can  remain  in  the 
trench.  Dig  a  trench  as  narrow  as  possible,  (it  should  not 
be  wider  than  ten  inches),  and  of  a  depth  equal  to  the 
hight  of  the  celery,  that  is,  if  the  plant  of  celery  be 
eighteen  inches  high,  the  trench  should  be  dug  eighteen 
inches  deep.  The  celery  is  then  packed  exactly  in  the 
manner  described  for  storing  in  boxes  to  be  placed  in  the 
cellar  ;  that  is,  stand  it  as  near  upright  as  possible,  and 
pack  as  closely  together  as  can  be  done  without  bruising 


CELERIAC,    OR  TURNIP-BOOTED   CELERY.  195 

it.  As  the  weather  becomes  cold,  the  trenches  should  be 
gradually  covered  with  leaves  or  litter,  to  the  thickness 
of  six  or  eight  inches,  which  will  be  enough  to  prevent 
severe  freezing,  and  enable  the  roots  to  be  taken  out 
easily  when  wanted.  Fig.  79  represents  this  method  of 
storing  celery  in  trenches  for  winter  use. 

From.  200  to  500  roots  is  the  number  usually  required 
by  an  ordinary 
family.  The  va- 
rieties we  recom- 
mend, are  the  San- 
dringham  White 
and  Dwarf  Red. 
The  red  is  as  yet 
but  little  used 
in  this  country, 
though  the  flavor 
is  better,  and  the 
plant  altogether  "/^A1^  W^^Jmii^S^^} 

than  the 


CELERIAC,  OR  TUR- 

NIP-ROOTED  CEL- 

ERY, (Apium  graveo- 

lens  var.) 

Is  grown  almost 
the  same  as  the 
common  celery, 
and  as  it  requires 
but  little  earth- 
ing-up,  the  rows 
may  be  nearer  to- 

gether.        ItS   tur-  ^'  8°'~  <!ELERIAO»  °B  TURNIP-ROOTED  CELERY. 

nip-like  root  is  used  as  a  salad,  mostly  by  the  French  and 
Germans.  It  is  sometimes  stewed,  but  usually  simply 
boiled,  sliced,  and  dressed  as  a  salad  for  the  table. 


190  GARDENING  FOE   FLEASUEE. 

CORN-SALAD  OR  FETTICUS,  (Fedia  olitoria.) 

This  is  sold  to  a  considerable  extent  in  spring  in  the  city 
markets  for  use  as  an  early  salad. 
For  mode  of  cultivation,  etc.,  see 
Spinach,  as  it  is  grown  in  exactly 
the  same  manner. 


CHIVES,  (Allium  Sehoenoprasum.) 

An  entirely  hardy  onion  -  like 
plant,  of  easy  culture  ;  it  will  grow 
on  almost  any  soil  for  years,  with- 

,  ,      .  ,         i      -i          mi        i  Fig-  81.— COB1T-SALAD. 

out  being  transplanted.     The  leaves 
are  the  part  used,  and  may  be  shorn  off  every  two  weeks 
during  summer.     It  is  propagated  by  tearing  to  pieces  the 
old  clumps  and  setting  the  divisions  in  rows  a  foot  apart. 

CRESS  OR  PEPPER  GRASS,  (Lepidium  sativum.) 

A  spring  and  summer  salad  plant ;  sow  in  early  spring, 
and  in  succession,  every  week  or  so  if  desired,  in  rows 
one  foot  apart.  The  curled  variety  is  the  best,  as  it  can 
be  used  for  garnishing,  as  well  as  for  salad. 

CRESS- WATER,   (Nasturtium  officinale.) 

A  hardy  aquatic  plant,  which  can  only  be  properly  cul- 
tivated where  there  are  running  streams.  If  there  is  a 
brook  on  the  place,  all  that  would  be  wanted  for  private 
use  may  be  had  by  setting  a  few  plants  or  sowing  seeds 
in  spring  on  the  margin  of  the  water. 

CORN,  (Zea  Mays.) 

The  varieties  known  as  ' '  Sweet,"  are  the  kinds  cultiva- 
ted to  be  used  in  the  green  state.  Corn  may  either  be 
planted  in  "hills,"  dropping  three  or  four  seeds  in  a  hill 
four  feet  apart  each  way,  or  in  rows  five  feet  apart,  drop- 


CUCUMBER.  197 

ping  the  seeds  at  distances  of  eight  or  ten  inches  in  the 
rows.  In  this  latitude  it  is  useless  to  plant  corn  before 
the  middle  of  May.  For  succession  crops  it  should  be 
planted  every  two  or  three  weeks  until  July  first ; 
after  that  date  it  will  not  mature  here.  Corn  requires  a 
rich  light  soil  to  be  early.  The  leading  varieties  are 
Dwarf  Early  Sugar  for  first  early,  Crosby's  Early  Sugar 
for  second,  and  Stowell's  Evergreen  for  main  crops.  Three 
or  four  quarts  is  required,  if  succession  crops  are  sown  ; 
if  only  one  crop,  two  or  three  pints  will  be  sufficient. 

CUCUMBER,   (Oueumis  sativus.) 

In  most  places  where  the  Cucumber  is  grown  out-doors, 
it  is  more  or  less  troubled  with  the  "  Striped  Bug,"  but 
if  only  a  few  dozen  hills  are  cultivated,  it  is  not  a  very 
troublesome  matter  to  pick  them  off,  which  is  about  the 
only  sure  way  to  get  rid  of  them.  The  safest  method  of 
raising  cucumbers,  however,  is  to  cover  the  seeds  when 
first  sown,  with  the  hand-glass  described  in  chapter  on 
Implements  ;  which  by  the 
time  they  are  wanted  for 
cucumbers,  are  no  longer 
needed  over  cauliflowers.  If 
such  hand-glasses  are  not  ob- 
tainable, a  simple  method  is 
to  use  a  light  box  ten  or 
twelve  inches  square,  to  place 
over  the  seeds  after  sowing, 
covering  it  with  a  pane  of  BRTANT'S  PLANT  PKOTECTOB- 
glass  ;  this  will  not  only  forward  the  germination  of  the 
seeds,  but  will  protect  the  plants  against  the  bugs,  until 
they  are  strong  enough  not  to  be  injured  by  them. 
Bryant's  Plant  Protector,  a  simple  article,  made  of  light 
strips  of  wood,  covered  by  mosquito  netting,  may  be  used 
instead  of  a  hand-glass.  This  will  be  found  equally 


198  GARDENING  FOP.  PLEASURE. 

valuable  for  protecting  all  plants  liable  to  the  attacks  of 
flying  insects,  and  against  the  light  frosts,  so  often  inju- 
rious to  tender  plants.  Light,  sandy  soil  is  rather  best 
for  cucumbers;  the  "hills"  should  be  prepared  in  the 
same  manner  as  for  Lima  Beans,  but  set  three  feet 
apart,  dropping  five  or  six  seeds  in  each  hill.  Cucum- 
bers may  be  sown  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  in  suc- 
cession, every  three  or  four  weeks,  until  July.  The 
White  Spine  and  Long  Green  Prickly  are  favorite  varie- 
ties. The  Gherkin  or  Burr  is  by  some  used  for  pickling. 

EGG  PLANT,  (Solanum  Melongena.) 

This  is  always  an  interesting  vegetable  to  cultivate, 
being  worthy  of  a  place  as  an  or- 
namental plant,  as  well  as  being 
much  prized  for  culinary  use.  It 
is  a  native  of  the  Tropics,  and 
peculiarly  tender.  We  find  the 
seeds  will  not  germinate  freely 
under  a  temperature  of  seventy 
degrees ;  and  even  then,  often 
tardily,  unless  the  conditions  are 
just  right.  Nothing  suits  them 
so  well  as  a  warm  hot-bed,  and  to 
get  plants  of  the  proper  size  to  be 
set  in  the  open  ground  by  the  end 
of  May,  the  seeds  should  be  sown 
early  in  March,  and  the  plants 
potted  into  small  pots  when  an 
inch  or  so  in  hight.  But  as  only 
a  dozen  or  two  plants  are  needed 
for  a  family,  whenever  the  plants  Fig  83--EGG  PLANT- 
can  be  purchased  conveniently,  it  is  never  worth  the 
trouble  to  attempt  the  raising  of  them  from  seeds,  unless 
indeed  there  is  room  in  a  hot-bed,  or  hot-house  used 


EKDIVE— HEIIBS.  199 

for  other  purposes.  Do  not  plant  out  sooner  than  the 
25th  of  May,  unless  they  can  be  protected  by  hand- 
glasses. Set  at  distances  of  four  feet  apart,  preparing 
the  hills  as  described  for  Lima  Beans.  Each  plant  should 
average  a  dozen  fruits,  which  will  weigh  from  ten  to 
forty  ounces  each.  The  best  flavored  variety  in  our 
opinion  is  the  Black  Pekin,  but  the  most  prolific  is  the 
New  York  Market.  A  pure  pearly  white  variety  is  highly 
ornamental,  and  also  of  excellent  flavor.  The  Egg  Plant 
is  usually  fried  in  slices,  but  there  are  other  methods  to 
be  found  in  the  proper  authorities  in  such  matters. 

ENDIVE,  (CicTwrium  Endivia.') 

A  plant  related  to  the  lettuce.  If  sown  in  early  spring, 
either  in  hot-bed  or  in  the  open  ground,  in  April,  it  will 
be  ready  in  May.  Set  out  at  distances  of  fifteen  inches 
apart.  It  is  mostly  used  towards  fall,  however,  and  when 
wanted  at  that  time,  should  be  sown  in  June  or  July,  and 
set  out  in  August  and  September ;  nothing  further  is 
done  after  planting  but  hoeing  to  keep  down  the  weeds, 
until  it  attains  its  full  growth,  which  is  from  twelve  to 
eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  It  is  then  "blanched," 
either  by  gathering  up  the  leaves  and  tying  them  by 
their  tops  in  a  conical  form,  or  by  placing  a  slate,  or  flat 
stone,  on  the  plant  to  exclude  the  light  and  effect  the 
blanching.  It  is  used  as  a  salad.  The  varieties  are  the 
Moss  Curled  and  Plain-leaved  Batavian. 

HERBS— SWEET. 

Thyme,  Sage,  Basil,  Sweet  Marjoram,  and  Summer 
Savory  are  those  in  general  use  ;  the  seeds  of  all  ex- 
cept the  last  named,  should  be  sown  in  shallow  drills, 
one  foot  apart  in  May,  and  the  plants  will  be  fit  for  use 


200 


GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


in  September  and  October.     Summer  Savory  does  better 
if  the  seeds  are  sown  where  the  plants  are  to  grow. 

GARLIC,  (AUium  sativum.) 

Is  used  mostly  by  Europeans  ;  it  grows  freely  on  any 
soil ;  the  sets,  obtained  by  breaking  up  the  old  bulbs,  are 
planted  in  early  spring  in  rows  one  foot  apart,  and  five  or 


Fig.  84.— GARLIC  BULBS.  Fig.  85.— HORSERADISH  ROOT. 

six  inches  between  the  plants.     When  the  leaves  wither, 
the  bulbs  are  taken  up  and  hung  in  a  dry,  cool  place. 

HORSERADISH,  (Nasturtium  Armoracia.) 

For  family  use  a  few  roots  of  this  should  be  planted  in 
some  out-of-the-way  corner  of  the  vegetable  garden  ;  a 
dozen  roots,  once-  planted,  will  usually  give  enough  for  a 
life-time,  as  it  increases  and  spreads  so  that  there  is  never 
any  danger  of  being  without  it ;  the  trouble  is,  if  it  is 
once  admitted  into  the  garden,  it  is  difficult  to  be  got 
rid  of  if  so  desired. 


KOHLRABI — LEEK. 


KOHLRABI,  OR  TURNIP-ROOTED  CABBAGE,  (Brassica  oleraceavar.) 

This  vegetable  resembles  a  turnip,  but  is  regarded  as  a 

variety  of  the  cab- 
bage, with  a  fleshy 
edible  stem.  Seeds 
should  be  sown  in 
rows  fifteen  or  eigh- 
teen inches  apart,  in 
May  or  June,  and 
when  an  inch  high, 
thinned  out  to  nine 
or  ten  inches.  It  is 
a  favorite  vegetable 
with  the  Germans, 
and  immense  quan- 
tities are  sold  in  the 


ig.  86.  —  KOHLRABI. 


markets  of  New  York  in 
the  fall.  There  are  two  va- 
rieties, White  and  Purple. 

LEEK,  (AUium  Pbrrum.) 

Sow  in  April,  and  plant 
out  in  June  or  July,  in 
rows  one  foot  apart  and 
six  inches  between  the 
plants.  It  is  used  mainly 
during  the  winter  months  ; 
it  is  an  entirely  hardy 
plant,  yet  in  order  that  it 


Fig.  87.-. 


GARDENING  FOE  PLEASURE. 

may  be  handy  to  get  at  in  winter,  it  is  better  to  put  it  in 
trenches,  as  advised  for  preserving  celery. 

LETTUCE,  (Lactuca  sativa.) 

Lettuce  should  be  sown  in  a  hot-bed  or  greenhouse  if 
wanted  early  ;  seeds  sown  there  in  February  will  give  nice 
plants  to  set  out  in  April,  to  mature  in  May,  or  if  it  is 
sown  in  the  open  ground  in  April  and  planted  out  in 
May,  it  will  mature  in  June,  and  so  on  through  the 
summer  season  if  succession  crops  are  desired,  as  it  only 
takes  from  five  to  six  weeks  to  mature.  The  great  excel- 
lence of  lettuce  consists  in  its  freshness,  and  it  can  rarely 
be  purchased  in  perfect  condition ;  hence,  those  who 
would  enjoy  it  in  its  best  state  should  raise  it  themselves. 

For  early  use,  to  be  ready  in  May,  the  Curled  Silesia 
and  Boston  Market  are  the  best ;  while  for  summer  use, 
the  Curled  India  and  Plain  Drumhead  should  be  sown, 
as  they  do  not  readily  run  to  seed.  The  Cos  varieties  are 
mainly  used  in  Europe,  and  are  by  far  the  best  flavored  ; 
but  from  their  tendency  to  run  to  seed  in  our  warmer 
climate,  are  but  little  cultivated,  though  they  might  be 
safely  grown  in  the  cool  weather,  in  spring,  or  in  fall. 
An  ounce  of  seed  of  each  variety  will  be  ample. 

MARTTNIA,  (Martynia  proboscidea.) 

The  unripe  pods  taken  when  perfectly  tender,  are  used 
for  pickling.  They  must  be  gathered  every  day  or  two, 
or  some  will  become  hard  and  useless.  Sow  in  open 
ground  in  May,  and  transplant  to  two  feet  each  way  in 
June. 

MELON,  MUSK,  (Cucumis  Mek.) 

The  cultivation  of  the  Melon  is  almost  identical  with 
that  of  the  cucumber,  to  which  reference  may  be  made. 


MELON. 


203 


The  varieties  are  numerous,  those  named  below  are  the 

most  popular. 

Green   Citron.  —  Medium  size,  deeply  netted,   almost 

round  in  shape, 
flesh  green,  de- 
licious flavor. 

White  Japan. 
—  A  distinct  and 
white  -  skinned 
sort,  flesh  yellow, 
richly  flavored. 

Ispahan.  —  A 
valuable  variety 
for  the  southern 
states,  but  too 
late  to  mature 
in  the  north.  It 
grows  to  upwards 
of  a  foot  in 
length  ;  skin, 
when  fully  ripe, 
light  yellow  ; 
flesh  yellowish- 
white,  with  a  rich 
perfume  and  fla- 

~  , 

vor.     Cassaoa  is 
a  related  variety,  and  in  most  seasons  ripens  with  us. 
Ward's  Nectar  and  Skillman's  Netted,  are  among  the 
best  for  the  family  garden. 

MELON,  WATER,  (OitruUus  vulgaris.) 

The  cultivation  of  the  Water  Melon  is  in  all  respects 
similar  to  that  of  the  Musk  Melon,  except  that  being  a 
larger  and  stronger  growing  plant,  it  requires  to  be 
planted  at  greater  distances.  The  hills  should  not  be 


.  88.—  MARTYNIA. 


204  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

less  than  eight  feet  apart  each  way.  It  delights  in 
light  sandy  soil,  and  will  not  grow  satisfactorily  on 
heavy,  clayey  soils.  The  leading  sorts  are  : 

Mountain  Sprout. — A  large-sized,  red-fleshed  variety, 
of  excellent  flavor. 

PMnney's  Early. — Flesh  of  a  deep  red,  very  sweet. 


Fig.  89.— WATER-MELON— PHINNEY'g  EABLT. 

Ice  Cream. — A  white-fleshed  variety,  and  one  of  the 
earliest ;  best  to  be  grown  in  northern  or  eastern  states. 

Orange. — So  called  because  the  flesh  parts  readily  from 
the  rind  when  ripe.  The  flesh  is  red,  and  rather  coarse  ; 
it  keeps  longer  than  any  other. 

Rattlesnake,  also  called  Joe  Johnson,  is  a  fine  variety 
for  the  southern  states,  and  is  largely  grown  for  shipment 
to  the  northern  markets. 

MUSTARD,  (Sinapis  alba.) 

For  use  and  cultivation  see  Cress. 

MUSHROOM,  (Agaricus  campestrls.) 

Many  who  have  a  taste  for  horticultural  pursuits  grow 
mushrooms  as  much  for  the  novelty  of  the  thing  as  for 
the  use,  for  it  is  certainly  very  gratifying  for  an  ama- 


MUSHROOM.  205 

teur  to  find  that  he  has  succeeded  with  a  crop  of  this  cu- 
rious vegetable  in  mid-winter,  when  everything  outside 
is  frost-locked  and  snow-bound.  I  have  said  that  the 
novelty  is  attractive,  for  in  growing  all  other  plants  the 
cultivator  sees  something  tangible  to  start  with,  either 
seeds,  plants,  or  roots,  but  with  the  mushroom  it  may  be 
said  he  sees  neither,  for  no  seeds  can  be  discovered  either 
with  the  naked  eye  or  with  a  magnifier,  and  it  requires 
some  faith  to  believe  the  minute  thread-like  substance 
we  call  "  spawn,"  to  be  either  plants  or  roots. 

Mushrooms  are  always  raised  in  the  dark,  and  any 
cellar,  stable,  or  an  out-house  of  any  sort,  wherein  a 
temperature  of  45°  to  65°  can  be  commanded,  will  grow 
them.  There  are  various  methods  followed  by  mushroom 
growers,  but  I  will  only  give  one,  premising  that  if  the 
directions  given  are  strictly  followed,  success  is  just  as 
certain  as  in  growing  a  crop  of  peas  or  potatoes.  Let 
horse  droppings  be  procured  from  the  stables  each  day, 
in  quantities  not  less  than  a  barrow  load  ;  to  every  bar- 
row load  of  droppings,  add  half  the  quantity  of  fresh 
loam,  from  a  pasture  or  sod  land,  or  soil  of  any  kind 
that  has  not  been  manured,  (the  objection  to  old  ma- 
nured soil  being  that  it  may  contain  the  spores  of  spuri- 
ous fungi.)  Let  the  droppings  and  soil  be  mixed  to- 
gether day  by  day,  as  the  manure  can  be  procured ;  or 
if  they  can  be  had  all  at  once  in  sufficient  quantity,  so 
much  the  better.  Let  the  heap,  (which  should  be  under 
cover),  be  turned  every  day,  so  that  it  is  not  allowed  to 
heat  violently  until  you  have  got  together  a  sufficient 
quantity  to  form  a  bed  of  the  desired  size.  From  the 
prepared  droppings  and  soil,  begin  to  form  the  bed.  A 
convenient  width  is  four  feet,  and  the  length  may  be  as 
great  as  desired.  First  spread  a  thin  layer  of  the  com- 
post, pounding  it  down  firmly  with  a  brick  or  mallet, 
layer  after  layer,  until  it  reaches  a  depth  of  eight  inches. 
Be  careful  that  the  thickness  is  just  about  eight  inches, 


206  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

as  if  more,  it  would  heat  too  violently,  and  if  less,  it 
would  not  heat  enough.  Into  this  bed  plunge  a  ther- 
mometer ;  in  two  or  three  days  the  bed  will  heat,  so  that 
the  thermometer  will  rise  to  100°  or  over.  As  soon  as  the 
temperature  declines  to  90°,  take  a  sharp  stick  and  make 
holes  an  inch  or  so  in  diameter  all  over  the  bed,  at  about  a 
foot  apart,  and  six  inches  deep  ;  into  these  holes  drop 
two  or  three  pieces  of  "  spawn,"  and  cover  up  the  hole 
again  with  the  compost  of  which  the  bed  is  made,  and 
beat  it  slightly  again,  so  that  the  bed  will  present  the 
same  level  surface  as  before  the  spawn  was  put  in.  Let 
the  bed  remain  in  this  condition  for  ten  or  twelve  days, 
by  which  time  the  spawn  will  have  run  all  through  it. 
Now  spread  evenly  over  the  surface  of  the  bed  about  two 
inches  of  fresh  loam,  press  it  down  moderately  with  the 
back  of  a  spade,  and  cover  up  the  bed  with  hay  or  straw 
to  the  thickness  of  three  or  four  inches.  If  this  opera- 
tion is  finished  in  November  or  December,  and  the  place 
has  an  average  temperature  of  55°,  you  may  look  out  for 
a  crop  in  January  or  February.  The  bed  will  continue 
bearing  about  three  or  four  weeks,  and  the  crop  is  usually 
enormous,  often  producing  a  bushel  on  two  square  yards 
of  space.  After  the  first  crop  is  gathered,  a  second,  and 
even  a  third,  can  be  taken  if  desired,  from  the  same  bed 
without  further  trouble  than  to  spread  a  little  fresh  soil 
on  the  surface,  giving  it  a  gentle  watering  and  covering 
up  with  hay  as  before.  Great  care  must  be  taken  that 
after  placing  the  spawn  in  the  newly  made  bed,  the 
earth  covering  is  not  put  on  sooner  than  ten  or  twelve 
days  ;  in  my  first  attempt  at  mushroom  growing,  I  failed 
two  years  in  succession,  because  I  put  on  the  soil 
when  the  spawn  was  first  put  into  the  bed  ;  by  so  doing, 
the  steam  arising  from  the  manure  was  prevented  from 
passing  off,  and  the  result  was,  that  the  spawn  rotted.  I 
believe  this  very  common  error  is  the  cause  of  most  of 
the  failures  in  raising  mushrooms. 


NASTURTIUM — OKKA. 


207 


NASTURTIUM— INDIAN  CRESS,  (Trapceolum  majm.) 

A  liiglily  ornamental  plant,  cultivated  in  flower-gar- 
dens as  well  as  in  the  kitchen  garden.  The  shoots  and 
flowers  are  some- 
times used  in 
salads,  but  it  is 
mainly  grown  for 
its  fruit  or  seed 
pods,  which  are 
pickled  in  vine- 
gar and  used  as 
a  substitute  for 
capers.  The  plant 
is  of  the  easiest 
culture.  Sow  in 
shallow  drills  in 
May.  The  tall 
variety  will  reach 
a  hight  of  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  if 
furnished  with 
strings  or  wires, 
and  makes  an 
excellent  screen 
for  shade,  or  for 
quickly  covering 
up  and  conceal-  Fig-  90.— OKRA. 

ing  any  unsightly  place.     The  dwarf  variety  is  grown 
like  peas,  and  staked  with  brush. 

OKRA   OR   GUMBO,  (Abelmoschus  esculentus.) 

A  vegetable  of  the  easiest  culture.  Sow  in  drills  in 
May,  three  feet  apart  for  dwarf,  and  four  feet  for  tall 
sorts,  in  drills  two  or  three  inches  deep.  The  long  pods 
when  very  young  and  tender,  are  used  in  soups,  stews, 
etc. ,  and  are  very  nutritious. 


208  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

ONION,  (Alliurn  cepa.) 

Onions  are  raised  either  by  "sets,"  which  are  small 
dry  onions  grown  the  previous  year,  or  from  seeds.  When 
grown  from  the  sets,  they  should  be  planted  out  as  early 
in  spring  as  the  ground  is  dry  enough  to  work ;  plant 
them  in  rows  one  foot  apart,  with  sets  three  or  four 
inches  apart.  When  raised  from  sets,  the  onions  can 
be  used  in  the  green  state  in  June,  or  they  will  be 
ripened  off  by  July.  When  raised  from  seeds,  these  are 
sown  at  about  the  same  distance  between  the  rows,  and 
when  the  young  plants  are  an  inch  or  so  high,  they  are 
thinned  out  to  two  or  three  inches  apart.  It  is  import- 
ant that  onion-seed  be  sown  very  early.  In  this  lati- 
tude it  should  be  sown  not  later  than  the  middle  of 
April,  for  if  delayed  until  May,  warm  weather  sets  in 
and  delays,  or  rather  prolongs  the  growth  until  fall,  and 
often  the  bulbs  will  not  ripen  ;  we  find  that  unless  the 
onion-tops  dry  off  and  the  bulbs  ripen  by  August,  they 
will  hardly  do  so  later.  The  best  known  sorts  are  White 
Portugal  or  Silver  Skinned,  Yellow  Dutch  or  Strasburg, 
and  Wethersfield  Eed. 

Two  kinds  are  grown  exclusively  from  bulbs ;  one  of 
these  is  the  Potato  Onion,  or  "  Multipliers,"  which  in- 
crease by  the  bulb  splitting  up  and  dividing  itself  into 
six  or  eight  smaller  bulbs,  which  in  turn  form  the  sets 
to  plant  for  the  next  crop.  The  other  variety  is  what  is 
called  "Top  Onion,"  which  forms  little  bulbs  on  the 
stem  in  the  place  of  flowers ;  these  are  in  clusters,  and 
about  the  size  of  hazel  nuts.  These  small  bulbs  are 
broken  apart  and  planted  in  spring  at  the  same  distances 
as  the  "sets"  referred  to  above  ;  all  mature  in  August. 

PARSLEY,  (Carum  Petroselinum.) 

But  a  very  small  quantity  of  this  is  usually  wanted  in 
the  family  garden.  Sow  in  shallow  drills  in  April  or 


PAKSNIP — PEA. 


209 


May.  A  good  plan  is  to  sow  in  shallow  boxes  as  much  as 
may  be  needed  ;  they  can  be  placed  wherever  there  is 
moderate  light,  and  no  frost  ;  by  this  means  a  fresh 
supply  may  be  kept  on  hand  in  hard  winter  weather, 
when  it  is  most  desirable  to  have  it,  either  for  garnish- 
ing dishes  or  for  other  uses.  The  best  variety  to  grow  is 
the  Moss,  or  Double  Curled. 

PARSNIP,   (Pastinaca  saliva.) 

For  mode  of  cultivation  of  parsnips,  see  carrot,  as  their 
culture  is  identical,  except  that  this 
being  hardy,  can  be  left  out  in 
winter,  while  in  this  latitude  carrots 
cannot.  A  portion  of  the  crop  may 
be  dug  and  stored  in  the  cellar  or 
in  trenches,  and  the  remainder  may 
be  left  until  spring.  The  Hollow 
Crowned  is  best  for  general  use. 

PEA,  (Pisum  sativum.) 

The  pea  is  indispensable  in  the 
garden,  and  there  is  more  satisfac- 
tion in  growing  it  on  one's  own 
ground,  than  there  is  in  raising  any 
other  vegetable.  If  too  old  when 
picked,  or  stale,  which  is  too  often 
the  case  when  purchased  from  the 
dealers,  peas  have  but  little  resem- 
blance to  those  taken  directly  from 
the  vines.  For  an  early  crop  peas 

•u      ij-u  *ru    A    J.1-U-  Fig.  91.— PARSNIP. 

should  be  one  of  the  first  things  sown 
in  the  spring.  We  prefer  to  sow  in  double  rows,  which  saves 
half  the  labor  in  staking  or  bushing  up,  and  gives  nearly 
the  same  crop  to  the  row  as  if  sown  in  single  rows. 
Double  rows  are  made  at  eight  or  nine  inches  apart,  and 


210  GAKDE^IKG  FOB   PLEASUKE. 

four  feet  from  other  rows.  Set  a  line  and  draw  the 
drills  with  a  hoe  three  or  four  inches  deep ;  the  seed 
should  be  sown  to  lay  as  near  as  possible  an  inch  or  so 
apart.  The  Sidney  Seed-Sower,  mentioned  in  the  chapter 
on  Implements,  is  a  most  convenient  affair  for  sowing 
peas ;  one  can  with  a  few  minutes  practice  distribute  the 
seed  with  great  regularity.  In  order  to  have  a  succession 
of  crops  of  peas,  they  should  be  sown  every  two  or  three 
weeks  until  July.  If  succession  crops  are  grown,  an 
average  quantity  for  a  family  would  be  twelve  quarts ;  if 
only  first  crops  of  early  and  late,  from  four  to  six  quarts 
will  be  sufficient. 

The  varieties  of  peas  are  almost  innumerable,  and  new 
sorts — or  at  least  sorts  with  new  names — are  sent  out 
every  year.  They  may  be  classed  in  two  groups,  the 
round  and  the  wrinkled  peas.  The  round  varieties  are 
the  earliest,  but  they  are  as  much  inferior  to  the  wrinkled 
or  marrow  kinds,  as  field  is  to  sweet  corn;  these  two 
groups  are  subdivided  according  to  hight.  The  earliest 
pea  is  Daniel  O'Rourke,  under  some  of  its  dozen  or  more 
names,  for  most  of  the  "early"  and  "extra  early"  peas 
are  only  selected  strains  of  this,  which,  under  other  names, 
dates  back  into  the  last  century.  It  is  of  medium  hight, 
productive,  and  valuable  as  yielding  the  earliest  crops. 
The  earliest  of  the  wrinkled  sorts  is  the  Alpha,  of  medium 
hight.  The  standard  late  sort  is  the  CJiampion  of  Eng- 
land, an  old  variety,  which  has  not  yet  been  superseded. 
The  dwarf  sorts,  which  grow  only  about  a  foot  high  and 
need  no  brush,  are  very  handy  in  the  family  garden,  as 
they  may  be  used  to  occupy  odd  spaces.  The  leading 
dwarfs  are  Tom  Thumb,  early  but  round,  and  Little  Gem, 
productive  and  of  the  best  quality.  The  catalogues  give 
the  merits  of  numerous  other  sorts,  early,  medium,  and 
late. 


PEPPER — POTATO — PUMPKIN.  211 

PEPPER,  or  CAPSICUM,  (Capsicum  annuum.) 

The  Pepper  is  sown  and  cultivated  in  all  respects  the 
same  as  the  Egg-Plant,  which  may  be  referred  to.  The 
varieties  are  the  Bull-Nose,  or  Bell,  and  the  Cayenne. 

POTATO,  (Solanum  tuberosum.) 

Potatoes  are  grown  by  planting  the  tubers,  either  cut 
or  whole,  it  makes  but  little  difference  which ;  if  large, 
cut  them  ;  if  small,  leave  them  uncut.  They  are  usually 
planted  in  drills  three  feet  apart,  and  four  or  five  inches 
deep.  The  ground  should  be  prepared  by  first  spreading 
in  the  drills  a  good  coat  of  stable  manure,  say  two  inches 
deep,  upon  which  are  planted  the  tubers  or  sets,  at  dis- 
tances of  eight  or  ten  inches  apart.  In  a  warm  exposure 
planting  may  be  begun  early  in  April,  and  the  crop  will 
be  fit  for  use  in  June.  Some  of  the  small-leaved  varieties 
such  as  the  Ash-leaved  Kidney,  were  formerly  grown  un- 
der hand  glasses,  or  in  frames,  to  forward  them,  but  now 
this  is  hardly  worth  the  trouble,  as  our  supplies  from 
southern  latitudes  are  so  early  that  it  is  no  longer  desir- 
able to  force  the  crop.  The  generally  favorite  variety  for 
early  crops  is  still  the  Early  Rose  ;  and  for  general  crop, 
Peach-Blows;  but  there  are  scores  of  other  varieties, 
which  have  a  special  or  local  reputation. 

PUMPKIN,  (Oucurbita  Pepo.) 

Pumpkins  are  still  grown  in  many  gardens  with  a  te- 
nacity that  is  astonishing,  when  it  should  long  ago  have 
been  known  that  they  have  no  business  there,  as  their 
first  cousins,  the  squashes,  are  eminently  superior  for 
every  culinary  purpose  whatever.  The  Pumpkin  is  a  val- 
uable product  for  the  farm,  as  a  food  for  cattle,  but  for 
nothing  else.  If  people  will  waste  valuable  land  in  rais- 
ing pumpkins,  they  may  plant  them  the  same  as  directed 
for  squashes. 


212  GARDENING   FOE   PLEASURE. 

RADISH,  (Raphanw  sativus.) 

One  of  the  first  vegetables  that  we  crave  in  spring  is 
the  Radish,  and  it  is  so  easy  of  culture  that  every  family 
can  have  it  fresh,  crisp,  and  in  abundance.  The 
smallest  garden  patch  of  a  few  feet  square,  will  give 
enough  for  a  family.  It  is  sown  either  in  drills  or 
broadcast,  care  being  taken  that  the  seed  is  not  put 
in  too  thickly  ;  from  one  to  two  inches  apart  either  in 
drill  or  broadcast,  being  the  proper  distance,  as  usually 
every  seed  germinates.  The  best  varieties  are  the  Red 
and  French  Turnip,  and  the  Short  Top  Long,  Red,  or 
White.  If  wanted  specially  early,  the  above  sorts  are 
best  for  hot-bed  forcing  ;  for  summer  and  winter  use  the 
yellow  and  gray  varieties  are  preferred. 

RHUBARB    OR   PEE    PLANT,  (fiheum  Shaponticum.) 

Rhubarb  may  be  planted  in  either  fall  or  spring,  using 
either  plants  raised  from  the  seed,  or  sets  obtained  by  di- 
visions of  the  old  roots,  taking  care  to  have  a  bud  to  each. 
Set  at  distances  of  three  or  four  feet  apart  each  way. 
The  place  where  each  plant  is  to  be  set,  should  be  dug 
eighteen  inches  deep  and  the  same  in  width,  and  the 
soil  mixed  with  two  or  three  shovelfuls  of  well-rotted 
stable  manure.  Two  dozen  strong  plants  will  be  enough 
for  the  wants  of  an  average  family.  If  desired  in  winter 
or  early  spring,  a  few  roots  can  be  taken  up  and  placed  in 
a  warm  cellar  or  any  such  dark  and  warm  place.  The 
roots,  if  the  cellar  is  dark,  may  be  put  in  a  box  with 
earth  around  them,  or  if  in  a  light  cellar,  they  may  be 
put  in  the  bottom  of  a  barrel  with  earth,  and  the  top 
covered.  The  only  care  needed  is  to  see  that  the  roots 
do  not  get  too  dry,  and  to  water  if  necessary,  when  it 
will  grow  with  but  little  care  The  useful  portions  is  the 
long  and  thick  leaf-stalks,  and  these  when  forced  are 
much  finer  in  flavor  than  when  grown  exposed  to  air  and 


FALSIFY.  Zlo 

light  in  the  open  garden.     The  plants  in  the  open  ground 
should  have  the  flower-stalks  cut  away  as  they  appear. 


Fig.  92.— BHUBAKB. 

In  gathering  do  not  cut  the  leaf -stalks,  as  they  will  read- 
ily come  away  by  a  side-wise  pull,  and  leave  no  remnant 
to  decay.  The  varieties  are  Hyatt's  Victoria  an  d  Linnaeus. 

SALSIFY,   OR   OYSTER   PLANT,    (Tragapogon  porrifolius.) 

The  culture  of  this  vegetable  is  the  same  in  all  respects 
as  for  carrots,  which  see.  Like  the  parsnip,  it  is  hardy, 
and  can  be  left  out  during  winter  in  any  district  without 
injury  from  frost.  It  is  rapidly  becoming  more  popular. 


214  GARDEKIKG   FOR   PLEASURE. 

It  is  stewed  like  parsnips  or  carrots,  is  used  to  make  soup, 


Fig.  93.— SALSIFY.  Fig.  94.—  SCOBZONEBA.. 

which  has  a  decided  flavor  of  the  oyster,  or  is  first  boiled 
and  then  fried.     There  is  but  one  kind. 

SCORZONERA— BLACK  SALSIFY,  (Scorzonera  Hispanica.} 

This  is  somewhat  different  in  flavor  from  Salsify,  and 


SEA   KALE.  215 

is  preferred  to  it  by  many ;  it  has  much  broader  leaves, 
but  it  is  cultivated  and  used  in  the  same  manner. 

SEA   KALE,  (Crambe  maritima.) 

Sea  Kale  is  a  favorite  vegetable  in  European  gardens, 
but  here,  as  yet,  almost  unknown.  Anticipating  that  at 
no  distant  day  it  may  be  as  generally  cultivated  as  it  de- 
serves to  be,  I  briefly  describe  the  mode  of  culture.  The 
seeds  of  Sea  Kale  should  be  sown  in  the  greenhouse,  or 
in  a  slight  hot-bed  in  February  or  March,  and  when  the 
plants  are  an  inch  or  two  in  hight,  they  should  be  potted 
into  two  or  three-inch  pots  and  placed  in  a  cold  frame  to 
harden,  until  sufficiently  strong 
to  be  planted  in  the  open 
ground.  It  should  then  be  set 
out  in  rows  three  feet  apart, 
with  two  feet  between  the 
plants,  on  land  enriched  as  for 
any  ordinary  cabbage  crop.  If 
the  plants  and  the  soil  in  which 
they  have  been  planted  are  both 
good,  and  cultivation  has  been 
properly  attended  to,  by  keeping 
the  plants  well  hoed  during  the 
summer,  it  will  have  "  crowns" 

•,  .  Fiff.  95  — SEA  KALE 

strong  enough  to  give  a  crop  the 

next  season.  In  the  northern  states  it  will  be  necessary 
to  cover  the  rows  with  three  or  four  inches  of  leaves,  to 
protect  the  plants  from  frost.  Sea  Kale  is  only  fit  for 
use  when  te  blanched,"  and  to  effect  this,  on  the  approach 
of  spring  the  " crowns"  should  be  covered  with  some 
light  material,  such  as  sand  or  leaf -mold,  to  the  depth  of 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches,  so  that  the  young  shoot  being 
thus  excluded  from  the  light,  will  become  blanched  in 
growing  through  this  covering.  Sometimes  cans  made 


216  GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 

for  the  purpose,  or  large  flower-pots,  or  even  wooden 
boxes,  are  inverted  over  the  plants,  the  object  in  each 
case  being  to  exclude  the  light.  If  it  is  desired  to  force 
Sea  Kale,  or  forward  it  earlier,  the  materials  used  to 
make  hot-beds,  leaves  or  stable  manure  are  heaped  over 
the  pots  or  cans  in  a  sufficient  quantity  to  generate  the 
proper  heat  to  forward  or  force  on  the  growth  of  the 
plants.  The  young  shoots  are  cut  from  the  plant  before 
the  leaves  are  developed,  and  when  cooked,  have  a  flavor 
something  between  asparagus  and  cauliflower,  but  by 
most  persons  much  preferred  to  either.  The  engraving 
shows  a  young  shoot  when  ready  for  the  table. 

SHALLOTS,  (Allium  Ascalonicum.) 

A  plant  of  the  onion  genus,  which  is  cultivated  by  set- 
ting out  the  divided  roots  in  September  in  rows  a  foot 
apart,  allowing  six  inches  between  them.  It  is  entirely 
hardy,  and  fit  for  use  in  early  spring. 

SPINACH,  (Spinaeia  oleracea.) 

Spinach  is  a  vegetable  of  easy  culture.  It  may  either 
be  sown  in  spring  or  fall.  If  in  fall,  the  proper  time  is 
from  the  10th  to  the  25th  of  September,  in  rows  one  foot 
apart ;  sow  rather  thickly.  Cover  the  plants  with  two 
or  three  inches  of  hay  or  leaves  on  the  approach  of  severe 
frost  in  December.  When  sown  in  the  fall,  the  crop  of 
course  is  ready  for  use  much  earlier  than  when  sown  in 
spring,  as  half  the  growth  is  made  in  the  fall  months. 
By  the  time  the  seed  can  be  sown  in  spring,  the  crop  that 
has  been  wintered  over  will  be  coming  into  use.  To  fol- 
low the  crop  thus  wintered,  seeds  should  be  sown  in  the 
same  manner  in  spring,  as  early  as  the  soil  can  be  worked, 
and  another  sowing  may  be  made  two  weeks  later.  The 
round-seeded  variety  is  best  for  winter  sowing,  and  the 
prickly  seeded  for  spring.  About  four  ounces  is  enough 
for  ordinary  wants  for  either  season's  sowing. 


SPINACH,    SUBSTITUTES  FOB. 


217 


SPINACH,   SUBSTITUTES   FOB. 

In  the  southern  states,  or  even  in  our  northern  sum- 
mers, Spinach  runs  rapidly 
to  seed,  if  sown  in  hot 
weather,  and  several  plants 
may  be  used  as  substitutes. 
Among  these  are  Swiss 
Chard,  a  species  of  beet, 
sometimes  called  Spinach 
Beet,  or  Perpetual  Spinach. 
Young  plants  of  the  ordi- 
nary beet  are  by  some  pre- 
ferred to  spinach ;  ordinarily  beets  need  thinning,  and 
the  seed  is  sometimes  sown  very  thickly,  in  order  that 
there  may  be  an  abundance  of  thinnings  to  use  as  spinach, 
or  beet  greens ;  they  are  used  with  the  young  beet  attach- 
ed, which  should  not  be  thicker  than  an  ordinary  lead- 
pencil  ;  if  larger,  the  leaves  will  be  too  strong.  Another 
substitute  is 

NEW   ZEALAND   SPINACH,  (Tetragonia  expansa.) 

This  is  a  remarkable  plant,  of  low  branching  habit, 


/ig.  97.  — NBW  ZEALAND  SPINACH. 

and    grows    with    surprising    luxuriance    during   hot 
10 


218 


GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 


weather.  Single  plants  often  measure  from  five  to  eight 
feet  in  diameter.  The  leaves  are  used  exactly  as  ordinary 
spinach.  It  should  not  be  sown  before  warm  weather 
sets  in  in  May,  and  the  plants  should  be  set  out  in  hills 
three  or  four  feet  apart  each  way, 

SQUASH,    (CucurUta  Pspo  and  G  maxima.) 

The  summer  varieties  are,  among  others,  the  White 
and  Yellow  Bush  and  Summer  Crookneck.      As  with 


Fig.  98.— SQUASH— WHITE  BUSH. 

all  plants  of  this  class,  it  is  useless  to  sow  these  before 
warm  weather  in  May,  and  the  directions  given  for  cu- 
cumbers and  melons,  are  alike  applicable  to  the  squash, 
except  that  the  distances  apart  of  the  hills ;  these  should 


Fig.  9'J. — SQUASH  —  SUMMER  CROOKNECK. 

be  from  three  to  four  feet  for  the  bush  sorts,  and  from 
six  to  eight  for  the  other  varieties  which  "  run  "  or  make 
a  long  vine.  The  fall  or  winter  squashes  are  planted  at 
the  same  time,  but  are  allowed  to  mature  or  ripen,  while 


SWEET   POTATO. 

the  summer  varieties  are  used  green.  They  are  usually 
planted  eight  or  nine  feet  apart,  in  hills  prepared  in  the 
usual  way.  These  squashes  are  great  feeders,  and  for 
the  best  results  the  soil  should  be  well  enriched,  besides 
the  special  manuring  in  the  hills,  as  the  vines  throw  out 
roots  at  every  joint  to  assist  in  feeding  and  maturing  the 
heavy  crop  they  usually  bear.  The  popular  varieties  are 


Fig.  100.— SQUASH— MABBLEHEAD. 

Hubbard,  Marblehead,  Yokohama,  and  Winter  Crook- 
neck.  Most  of  the  winter  varieties,  if  kept  in  a  dry  at- 
mosphere at  a  temperature  from  forty  to  fifty  degrees, 
will  keep  until  May.  A  garret  room  in  a  moderately  well 
he  ited  dwelling  house,  will  often  be  a  very  suitable  place 
for  storing  them. 

SWEET  POTATO,  (Ipamcea  Batatas.) 

It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  grow  the  Sweet  Potato  on 
anything  but  a  light  and  dry  soil.  On  clayey  soils  the 
plant  not  only  grows  poorly,  but  the  potatoes  raised  upon 
such  soil  are  watery,  and  poorly  flavored.  The  plants 
are  raised  by  laying  the  roots  on  their  sides  on  a  hot-bed 
or  bench  of  a  greenhouse,  and  covering  them  over  with 


220 


GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 


sand,  about  the  first  week  in  May;  by  keeping  up 
an  average  temperature  of  75°  or  80°,  fine  plants  will  be 
produced  by  June  1st,  at  which,  time  they  should  be 
planted  in  this  vicinity.  The  plants  are  set  in  hills  three 
feet  apart  each  way,  or  on 
ridges  four  feet  apart,  and 
12  or  15  inches  between 
the  plants,  drawing  the 
earth  up  to  them  as  they 
grow,  until  the  top  of  the 
ridge  or  hill  is  four  or  six 
inches  above  the  level. 
The  soil  under  the  ridges 
should  be  highly  manured, 
and  as  the  vines  grow  they 
should  be  kept  clear  of 
weeds  ;  when  late  in  the 
season  they  show  a  dis- 
position to  root  at  the 
joints,  they  must  be 
moved  every  week  or  so ; 
this  is  easily  done  by  run- 
ning a  rake  handle  or 
other  stick  under  the  vines 
and  lifting  them  sufficient- 
ly to  draw  out  the  small 
roots  upon  the  stem.  As 
is  the  case  with  many  other 
vegetables  of  which  the 
plants  or  sets  are  raised  in 
large  quantities  for  sale,  it  is  better  and  cheaper  when 
Sweet  Potato  plants  are  procurable,  to  purchase  them, 
than  to  attempt  to  raise  the  small  number  required  in  a 
private  garden.  A  hundred  plants  not  costing  more  than 
a  dollar,  are  all  that  most  families  would  require.  The 
Nansemond  is  the  favorite  variety. 


Fig.  101.— SWEET  POTATO. 


TOMATO — TUKNIP.  221 

TOMATO,  (Lycopersteum  escukntum.) 

If  any  vegetable  is  grown  in  a  family  garden,  it  is  al- 
most certain  to  be  the  Tomato.  Hundreds  of  people 
who  have  only  a  few  feet  of  ground  at  their  disposal, 
manage  to  cultivate  a  dozen  or  two  of  tomato-plants, 
though  they  may  have  nothing  else  ;  so  well  is  it  known 
that  I  think  few  of  my  readers  will  require  to  be  told 
much  about  its  culture.  The  Tomato  will  grow  any- 
where, and  under  almost  any  circumstances,  provided 
always  that  it  has  the  necessary  high  temperature  ;  it  is 
essentially  a  plant  of  the  Tropics,  and  need  never  be  sown 
in  a  hot-bed  here  before  March,  or  planted  in  the  open 
ground  before  the  middle  of  May.  When  cultivated  in 
private  gardens,  the  tomato-vine  should  always  be  pro- 
vided with  some  sort  of  trellis,  or  be  tacked  up  against  a 
fence  or  wall.  By  this  treatment,  not  only  will  a  heavier 
crop  be  obtained,  but  the  flavor  will  be  better  ;  when  the 
fruit  rests  on  the  ground  it  has  often  an  inferior  flavor, 
particularly  when  eaten  raw,  and  is  also  more  apt  to  de- 
cay. A  few  dozen  plants  usually  suffice  for  an  ordinary 
family,  and  if  there  are  no  hot-beds  or  other  glass  ar- 
rangements on  hand,  the  plants  had  better  be  purchased, 
as  they  are  sold  cheaply  everywhere.  The  favorite  vari- 
eties are  the  Trophy,  Champion  Cluster,  and  Conqueror. 

TURNIP,  (Brassica  campestris.) 

The  Turnip,  if  wanted  for  an  early  crop,  is  sown  in 
early  spring,  as  directed  for  beets.  The  best  sorts  are  the 
varieties  known  as  White  and  Purple-top  Strap-leaved 
and  Yellow  Aberdeen.  If  for  winter  or  fall  use,  sowing 
should  be  deferred  until  July  or  August.  The  Ruta 
Baga  or  Swedes,  being  sown  in  July,  and  the  earlier 
winter  sorts,  such  as  Yellow  Globe  or  Flat  Dutch,  are 
sown  in  August. 


GAKDEtflNG   FOB  PLEASURE. 
GENERAL    INSTRUCTIONS. 

In  concluding  the  section  of  this  book  devoted  to  veg- 
etable growing,  we  will  give  a  few  general  instructi&ns 
that  may  have  been  omitted  in  the  details  already  given. 
In  sowing  all  kinds  of  seeds,  more  particularly  those  of 
small  size,  be  careful,  if  the  soil  is  dry,  to  "firm"  or 
press  down  the  surface  of  the  bed  or  row  after  sowing, 
with  a  light  roller  or  back  of  a  spade,  more  especially  if 
the  weather  is  beginning  to  get  warm.  Crops  are  often 
lost  through  the  failure  of  the  seeds  to  germinate,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  the  soil  is  left  loose  about  the  tiny 
seeds,  and  the  dry  atmosphere  penetrates  to  them,  shriv- 
eling them  up  until  all  vitality  is  destroyed.  Again  for 
the  same  reason,  when  setting  out  plants  of  any  kind,  be 
certain  that  the  soil  is  pressed  close  to  the  root.  In  our 
large  plantings  in  market  gardening,  particularly  in  sum- 
mer, we  make  it  a  rule  in  dry  weather  to  turn  back  on 
the  row  after  planting  it  with  the  dibber  or  trowel,  and 
press  the  earth  firmly  to  each  plant  with  the  foot ;  we 
have  seen  whole  acres  of  celery  and  cabbage  plants  lost, 
solely  through  neglect  of  this  precaution.  Never  work 
the  soil  while  it  is  so  wet  as  to  clog,  better  wait  a  week 
for  it  to  dry  than  to  stir  it  if  wet.  In  no  "work  in  which 
men  are  engaged  is  the  adage,  "  A  stitch  in  time  saves 
nine,"  more  applicable  than  to  the  work  of  the  farm  or 
garden.  The  instant  that  weeds  appear,  attack  thorn 
with  the  hoe  or  rake ;  do  not  wait  for  them  to  get  a 
foot  high,  or  a  twelfth  part  of  it,  but  break  every  inch  of 
the  surface  crust  of  the  ground  just  so  soon  as  a  germ  of 
weed  growth  shows  itself.  And  it  will  be  better  to  do  it 
even  before  any  weeds  show,  for  by  using  a  small  sharp  . 
steel  rake,  two  or  three  days  after  your  crop  is  planted 
or  sown,  you  will  kill  the  weeds  just  as  their  seeds  are 
germinating.  The  newly  developed  germ  of  the  strongest 
•weed  is  at  that  time  very  tender.  In  my  market  garden 


GARDEN  IMPLEMENTS.  223 

operations  I  had  one  man  whose  almost  exclusive  duty 
it  was  to  work  in  summer  with  the  steel  rake,  and  in  a 
few  days  after  a  crop  was  planted,  the  surface  was  raked 
over,  destroying  the  thousands  of  weeds  just  ready  to  ap- 
pear. Had  we  waited  for  the  weeds  to  be  seen,  so  that 
they  were  too  large  to  be  destroyed  by  the  raking,  four 
men  could  not  have  done  with  the  hoe  the  work  accom- 
plished by  this  man  with  the  rake. 


CHAPTER    LL 
GAEDEN  IMPLEMENTS. 

The  tool-shed  is  an  important  and  necessary  append- 
age to  a  well  kept  garden.  The  following  list  includes  such 
implements  as  are  generally  needed  in  private  gardens  : 

THE  WHEELBARROW,  (Fig.  102). — The  wheelbarrow  is 


Fig.  102.— GARDEN  WHEELBARROW. 

an  important  vehicle  in  the  garden,  for  the  moving  of 
soils,  carrying  manures,  and  for  conveying  the  products 
of  the  vegetable  garden  to  the  house  or  place  of  storage, 
and  numerous  other  purposes.  It  may  be  purchased  of 
different  sizes  and  styles,  or  can  be  "  home-made "  by 
those  possessing  a  little  mechanical  skill. 


224 


FOR   PLEASURE. 


THE  SPADE,  (Fig.  103). — The  uses  of  the  spade  in  a 
garden  are  too  obvious,  and  general,  to  need  description. 
The  best  in  use  are  Ames'  cast-steel,  which  are  light, 
strong,  and  durable,  and  work  clean  and  bright. 

THE  SHOVEL,  (Fig.  104).— The  shovel  is  used  for  load- 
ing, and  for  mixing  and  spreading  composts  and  short 
manures.  They  are  made  with  long  or  short  handles. 

THE  DIGGING  FORK,  (Fig.  105),  or  Forking  Spade,  is 
used  instead  of  a  spade  to  dig  in 
manures,  to  loosen  the  earth  about 
the  roots  of  trees,  or  for  taking  up 
root  crops  ;  being  less  liable  to  cut 
or  injure  them  than  the 
spade.     It  is  often 


Tig.  103.      Fig.  104.    Fig.  105.      Fig.  106.      Fig.  107.          Fig.  108. 

used  instead  of  the  spade,  as  by  its  aid  the  soil  can  be 
more  readily  broken  and  pulverized. 

THE  MANURE  FORK,  (Fig.  106). — Is  made  of  cast-steel 
with  from  four  to  six  prongs,  and  is  used  for  mixing, 


GARDEN  IMPLEMENTS. 


223 


loading,  and  spreading  manures,  work  which  could  not 
be  efficiently  done  without  it. 

THE  COMMON  on  DKAW  HOE. — There  are  several 
patterns  of  draw  hoes,  but  the  one  in  general  use  is  the 
common  square  hoe,  as  represented  in  fig.  107.  Its 
uses  in  the  garden  are  manifold,  and  it  has  frequently  to 
do  duty  for  several  other  implements.  Its  principle  uses 
are  to  clean  the  surface  of  the  ground  from  weeds,  to 
open  trenches  for  seeds,  and  to  cover  them. 

THE  PEONG  HOE,  (Fig.  108). — This  is  one  of  the  most 
useful  of  all  garden  tools,  and  is  far  superior  to  the  blade 
hoe  for  stirring  and  pulverizing  the  soil.  It  cannot,  it 
is  true,  be  used  where  weeds  have  been  allowed  to  grow  to 
any  considerable  hight,  but  then  we  claim  that  in  all  well 
regulated  gardens,  weeds  should  never  be  allowed  to  grow 
so  large  that  they  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  prong  hoe. 

THE  DUTCH  OB  PUSH  HOE,  (Fig.  109),  is  sometimes 
preferred  to  the  preceding 
for  cutting  the  weeds  be- 
tween the  rows  of  vege- 
tables, a  work  which  can  be 
done  very  quickly  by  its  aid ; 


Fig.  109. 


Fig.  110. 


Fig.  111.    Fig.  112.        Fig.  113. 


it  is  not  so  generally  useful  as  the  draw  hoe,  but  is  better 
for  the  special  purposes  of  destroying  weeds. 
THE  BEEL  AND   LINE,  (Fig.   110),  are  necessary  in 


226  GARDENING   FOR   PLEASURE. 

every  well  regulated  garden,  enabling  us  to  plant  in 
straight  and  accurate  rows.  The  line  should  be  of  strong 
hemp,  and  is  wound  upon  the  reel  when  not  in  use. 

THE  PRUNING  SAW,  (Fig.  Ill),  is  used  for  cutting  off 
branches  that  are  too  large  for  the  knife,  for  removing 
dead  ones,  etc.  It  can  be  had  in  various  sizes,  from 
fourteen  to  twenty  inches  in  length. 

THE  GARDEN  TROWEL,  (Fig.  112),  is  used  for  setting 
the  smaller  kinds  of  plants  when  transferred  from  pots  to 
the  open  ground;  for  transplanting  annuals  and  many 
other  uses,  it  is  a  very  necessary  little  implement. 

PRUNING  AND  BUDDING  KNIVES,  (Fig.  113),  are  ne- 
cessary to  every  gardener.  They  are  of  different  sizes 
and  shapes,  for  the  various  purposes  of  grafting,  bud- 
ding, etc.,  and  are  made  of  the  best  steel. 

GRAPE  SCISSORS. — These  are  slender-pointed  scissors, 
used  for  thinning  out  the  berries  of  foreign  grapes  when 


Fig.  114.— LAWN  SCFTHE. 

they  are  about  half  grown,  so  that  those  that  are  left 
may  have  room  to  develop.  This  operation  should  never 
be  neglected  if  large  berries  and  well  shaped  bunches 
are  desired. 

FLOWER  GATHERERS. — A  very  useful  article ;  the 
scissors  cutting  off,  and  at  the  same  time  holding  fast 
the  flower  or  fruit  after  it  is  cut,  thus  enabling  one 
to  reach  much  farther  to  cut  flowers  or  fruits  than  if 
both  hands  had  to  be  used.  It  is  particularly  useful  in 
gathering  rose-buds,  as  the  stem  can  be  cut  off  with  but 
little  danger  from  the  thorns. 

LAWN  SCYTHES,  (Fig.  114). — The  lawn  scythe  is  now 
but  little  used,  the  lawn  mower  taking  its  place,  unless 


GARDEN   IMPLEMENTS. 


227 


MOWER. 


on  hill-sides  or  among  trees  or  shrubs,  where  the  lawn 

mower  cannot  be  worked. 
LAWN  MOWERS,  (Fig.  115).  —  The  great  improvements 

made     in      Lawn 

Mowers  during  the 

past  few  years,  and 

the  low   price    at 

which    they    may 

now  be   obtained, 

have    made    their 

introduction  com- 

mon to  every  gar- 

den.    They  are  of 

many   sizes,   from 

the  small  machine 

that  can  be  easily 

worked  by  a  boy, 

and  admirably  adapted  for  city  garden  plots,    to  the 

large  horse  mowers,  that  may  be  daily  seen  in  use  in  our 

larger  parks.     We  have  in  use  both  the  "  Excelsior  "  and 

"Archimedean"  Lawn  Mowers,  and  have  found  them 

excellent  in  all  respects. 

THE  GARDEN  ROLLER,  (Fig.  116),  is  indispensable  to 
a  well  kept  lawn,  and  should  always 
follow  after  mowing,  keeping  the 
ground  level  and  compact  ;  and  after 
gravel  walks  have  been  raked  over,  the 
roller  is  necessary  to  smooth  them  down. 

THE  WOODEN  LAWN   EAKE,  (Fig. 
/     /     «KA        117),  is  used  for  raking  off  lawns  pre- 
vious to  and  after  using  the  scythe  or 
lawn  mower,  and  for  removing  dead 
Fig.  116.—  ROLLER,    leaves  and  other  rubbish. 
THE  RAKE,  (Fig.  118),  is  used  to  level  the  surface  of  the 
ground  after  it  has  been  spaded  or  hoed,  and  to  prepare 


228 


GARDENING  FOE   PLEASURE. 


it  for  the  reception  of  seeds  or  plants.  Eakes  are  made 
of  different  sizes,  for  convenience  in  using  between  rows 
of  plants,  with  from  six  to  six- 
teen teeth.  When  a  crop  like 
cabbages  is  newly  planted,  we 
use  the  rake  in  preference  to 
anything  else,  as  raking  over  the 
surface  before  the  weeds  start 
to  grow,  destroys  the  germ  of 
the  weed,  never  allowing  it  to 
appear  at  all. 

THE  GRASS  EDGING  KNIFE, 
(Fig.  119),  is  used  for  cutting 
the  grass  edgings  of  flower-beds, 
its  rounded  edge  fitting  into 
curved  lines,  for  which  the 
spade  would  be  unsuitable. 


Fig.  117.         Fig.  118.  Fig.  120. 


Fig.  121.  Fig.  122. 


THE  SICKLE,  (Fig.  120).— This  is  a  most  useful  imple- 
ment for  switching  around  and  trimming  off  grass,  in 


GARDEN  IMPLEMENTS. 


229 


places  where  the  scythe  or  lawn  mower  cannot  be  used, 
or  where  the  place  to  be  cut  is  small. 

HEDGE  SHEARS,  (Fig.  121),  are  better  fitted  for  clip- 
ping hedges  than  the  Bill  Hook,  some- 
times used  for  the  purpose,  particularly 
in  inexperienced  hands.  A  line  should 
be  set  at  the  hight  to  which  the  hedge 
is  to  be  cut,  as  a  guide  to  work  by. 

HAND-PRUNING  SHEARS,  (Fig.  122). 
— These  are  very  efficient  and 
useful ;  they  will  cut  off  a  small 
branch  as  clean  as  if  a  knife 
had  been  used.  They  are  in- 
dispensable in  pruning  small 
fruit-trees  and  vines,  and  for 
use  in  the  grapery  and  garden. 

POLE  OR  TREE  PRUNING 
SHEARS,  (Fig.  123).  —  These 
shears  are  attached  to  a  pole, 
and  operated  by  means  of  a  lever 
moved  by  a  cord  or  a  wire ; 
they  enable  one  to  cut  off  branch- 
es from  trees,  shrubbery,  etc., 
that  are  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  ordinary  pruning  shears. 
Branches  of  an  inch  and  a  half  in  diameter  may  be  easily 
cut  off  with  this  instrument. 

GARDEN    SYRINGE,    (Fig.  124). — The    syringe  is  in 


Fig.  123.— TREE  PRUNER. 


.  124. — GARDEN   SYRINGE. 


daily  use  in  the  greenhouse  or  conservatory,  where  syr- 
inging is  necessary  to  keep  the  plants  in  a  flourishing 


230 


GARDENING   FOil   PLEASURE. 


and  healthy  condition.  They  are  made  of  several  sizes 
and  patterns,  and  fitted  with  roses  for  dispersing  water 
with  varying  force. 

WATERING-POT. — A  watering-pot  is  indispensable  in 
the  greenhouse  or  conservatory, 
where  it  is  daily  needed.  It 
should  be  obtained  of  a  suit- 
able size,  from  one  to  four  gal- 
lons, with  a  rose  for  sprinkling, 
which  may  be  detached  at  will. 

THE  EXCELSIOR  PUMP,  (Fig. 
125),  is  a  very  compact  and  use- 
ful implement  for  greenhouse 
and  garden  work.  It  is  easily 
operated,  and  throws  a  continu- 
ous stream.  It  is  very  effective 
for  watering  shrubbery,  gardens, 
or  lawns,  and  may  be  used  in  an 
emergency  as  a  fire  extinguish- 
er and  prevent  a  conflagration. 

THE  SIDNEY  SEED-SOWER, 
(Fig.  126). — This  is  a  very  useful  implement,  enabling 


.  135.— EXCELSIOR  PUMP. 


Fig.  126.  Fig.  128. 

the  operator  to  sow  seeds  with  perfect  regularity,  especi- 
ally in  wet  or  windy  weather.     It  will  distribute  large  or 


GARDEN   IMPLEMENTS. 


231 


129.— SMALL  GARDEN  SET. 


small  seeds  with  equal  regularity,  either  broadcast  or  in 
drills  or  pots. 

THE  EXCELSIOR  WEEDING  HOOK,  (Fig.  127),  is  a  very 

handy  implement 
for  removing  weeds 
from  among  small 
and  tender  plants, 
and  for  stirring  up 
the  soil.  It  can  he 
used  between  rows 
of  seedlings,  orna- 
mental plants,  or 
wherever  it  is  desirable  to  remove  weeds,  without  in- 
jury to  the  plants  or  soiling  the  hands. 

NOTES'  HAND  WEEDER,  (Fig.  128),  is  a  kind  of  minia- 
ture hand  hoe,  and  is  very  convenient  and  useful  for 
working  between  plants, 
dressing  pots,  and  clean- 
ing away  weeds,  where  a 
large  hoe  could  not  be 
used  to  good  advantage. 
LADIES'  AND  CHIL- 
DRENS'  GARDEN  TOOLS, 
(Fig.  129).— In  all  flower 
gardens  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  hand-work  to  be 
done.  This  lot  of  small 
implements  consisting  of 
a  spade,  fork,  rake,  and 
hoe,  will  be  found  very 
useful  in  working  on 
small  flower  borders. 


Fig.  130. — STEP  LADDER. 


STEP  LADDERS,  (Fig.  130). — The  step-ladder  is  always 
useful  in  a  garden,  especially  during  the  fruiting  season. 
It  is  made  in  different  sizes,  varying  from  three  to  ten 


232 


GARDENING  FOB  PLEASURE. 


feet,  and  weighing  from  ten  to  thirty  pounds ;  it  is  made 
with  flat  steps,  so  that  a  person  may  stand  upon  them 
while  working,  and  can  he  extended  or  contracted  as  re- 
quired. For  use  amongst  large  trees,  in  the  orchard,  a 
much  greater  length  of  ladder  is  required,  and  there  are 
various  forms  of  orchard  ladders  in  use,  but  the  step- 
ladder  is  sufficient  for  all  ordinary  garden  uses. 

HAND-GLASSES. — The  uses  of  these  have  been  men- 
tioned under  cauliflowers,  cucumber,  etc.  Home-made 
hand-glasses,  being  simply  a 
small  frame  covered  with  a  pane 
of  glass,  are  very  useful,  but  as 
they  exclude  some  light  they 
are  not  equal  to  those  made  with 
glass  all  around.  Hand-glasses 
with  metal  frames  and  glass 
sides  and  top,  are  made  of  differ- 
ent sizes  and  styles,  one  of  the 


Fig.  131.— HAND  GLASS. 


more  elaborate  of  which  is  shown  in  fig.  131.  Though 
somewhat  expensive,  they  will,  if  carefully  used,  last 
many  years. 

Trellises,  or  supports  for  plants,  are  needed  in  the 
flower  and  vegetable  garden  not  only  for  climbers,  but 
for  keeping  plants  which  have  weak 
stems  within  proper  bounds.  Trel- 
lises for  pots  may  be  purchased 
ready-made,  as  may  those  for  climb- 
ing roses  and  such  plants  ;  they  are 
usually  made  of  rattan  upon  a  frame 
of  light  wooden  stakes,  and  some 
are  made  entirely  of  wire.  A  per- 
son of  a  mechanical  turn  can 
readily  make  all  that  will  be  need- 
ed. A  few  engravings  are  given  here  as  suggestions. 
Fig.  132  shows  a  useful  support  made  with  a  barrel  hoop 
and  staves  ;  the  same  plan  may  be  carried  out  with  two 


Fig.  132. 


GARDEN  IMPLEMENTS. 


233 


Fig.  133.— TOMATO  TRELLIS. 


or  more  hoops,  and  laths,  if  staves  are  too  heavy.     This 

will  answer  for  tomatoes,  raspberries,  and  various  other 

plants.  A  more 
permanent  to- 
mato trellis  is 
shown  in  fig. 
133,  in  which 
slats  are  sup- 
ported by  & 
shaped  up- 
rights. If  put 
1  together  with 
^-^  screws,  such  a 
trellis  may  be 
carefully  put 
away  in  the  fall 

and  made  to  last  several  years.     A  rustic  trellis,  like  that 

in  fig.  134,  is  often  useful  in  the  flower  garden,  or  it 

may  serve  when  covered  with  climbers  to   divide  the 

flower  from  the 

vegetable  gar- 
den. It  is  made 

of  sticks  of  cedar 

or  other  durable 

wood,     set     as 

shown     in    the 

engraving,    and 

tied  where  the 

bars    cross    one 

another       with 

strong       tarred 

twine.         With 

these    examples 

as  suggestions,  one  will  find  no  difficulty  in  making  more 

elaborate  supports  and  with  other  materials. 


Fig.  134.— RUSTIC    TRELLIS. 


234:  GARDENING  FOE   FLEASUEE. 


MONTHLY    CALENDAR    OF    OPERATIONS. 


Although  I  have  endeavored  throughout  the  foregoing  pages  to 
be  particular  in  stating  the  season  or  date  at  which  each  gardening 
operation  should  be  done,  still  it  may  save  time  to  the  novice,  and 
be  otherwise  of  advantage,  to  briefly  suggest  what  work  should  be 
done  each  month. 

JANUARY. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — But  little  need  now  be 
done  hi  either;  in  the  greenhouse  care  must  be  exercised  with  the 
fires  to  protect  against  frost,  as  this  is  usually  the  coldest  month 
of  the  year ;  it  is  also  that  in  which  there  is  the  least  sunshine. 
But  little  ventilating  neel  be  done,  but  when  it  does  become  neces- 
sary to  do  it,  caution  must  be  used ;  be  careful  to  raise  the  ven- 
tilating sash  only  so  high  that  the  heated  air  from  the  green- 
house will  be  able  to  drive  back  the  outer  air  to  such  an  extent  as 
not  to  chill  the  plants.  For  example,  occasionally  after  a  very 
cold  night,  where  severe  firing  has  been  necessary  to  keep  up  the 
required  temperature,  say  to  60°,  it  happens  that  the  sun  comes 
out  bright  during  the  following  day,  so  that  by  noon  or  before, 
the  temperature  may  be  at  100°  inside  the  greenhouse,  though  out- 
side it  may  be  nearly  at  zero  ;  in  such  case  the  raising  of  the  sashes 
an  inch  or  two  will  rapidly  lower  the  temperature  of  the  green- 
house, so  that  an  hour  or  so  of  such  ventilating  would  be  all  that  is 
required.  If  the  greenhousa  is  heated  by  flue  or  even  by  hot 
water,  examine  nightly,  that  no  combustible  material  is  laid  on  the 
flue  or  thrown  against  the  chimney  of  the  boiler.  As  little  fresh 
air  can  be  given,  insects  are  to  be  watched  this  month  closely ;  by 
the  use  of  fire  heat  a  dry  atmosphere  will  be  created  in  which  the 
red  spider  luxuriates ;  nothing  answers  so  well  for  its  destruction 
as  copiously  syringing  the  plants  at  night,  and  splashing  the  paths 
with  water,  as  it  cannot  exist  to  an  injurious  extent  in  a  moist  at- 
mosphere. The  Aphis,  or  "green  fly,"  must  also  be  destroyed,  cr 
it  will  soon  cause  great  injury  to  the  plants.  Tobacco  in  almost 
any  form  is  death  to  it ;  it  may  be  either  used  by  burning  the 
stems  or  dusted  on  as  snuff,  or  syringed  on  in  liquid  form ;  for  full 
directions  see  body  of  the  work.  Hyacinths  and  other  bulbs  that 


MONTHLY   CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.  235 

have  been  kept  in  cellar  or  other  dark,  cool  place,  may  now  be 
brought  into  the  light  of  the  greenhouse,  provided  they  have  filled 
the  pots  with  roots,  if  not  well  rooted,  leave  them  where  they  are 
until  they  are  so,  or  select  such  of  them  as  are  best,  and  leave  the 
others  until  ready.  In  the  outside  flower-garden  litcle  can  be  done 
except  that  shrubs  may  be  pruned,  or  new  work,  such  as  making 
walks  or  grading,  if  weather  permits. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — Pruning,  staking  up,  or  mulching,  can  be 
done  if  the  weather  is  such  that  the  workman  can  stand  out.  No 
plant  is  injured  by  being  pruned  in  cold  weather,  though  the 
pruner  may  be?. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — Nothing  can  be  done  this  month  hi  the 
northern  states  except  to  prepare  manure,  and  get  sashes,  tools, 
etc.,  in  working  order,  but  in  sections  of  the  country  where  there 
is  but  little  or  no  frost,  the  hardier  kinds  of  seeds  and  plants  may 
be  sown  and  planted,  such  as  asparagus,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  car- 
rot, leek,  lettuce,  onion,  parsnip,  peas,  spinach,  turnip,  etc.,  etc. 
In  any  section  where  these  seeds  can  be  sown  in  the  open  ground, 
it  is  an  indication  that  hot-beds  may  be  begun  for  the  sowing  of 
such  tender  vegetables  as  tomatoes,  egg  and  pepper  plants,  etc., 
though  unless  in  the  extreme  southern  states,  hot-beds  had  better 
not  be  started  before  the  first  of  February. 

FEBRUARY. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — The  directions  for  Jan- 
uary will  in  the  main  apply  to  this  month,  except  that  now  some 
of  the  hardier  annuals  may  be  sown,  and  also  the  propagation  of 
plants  by  cuttings  may  be  done  rather  better  now  than  in  January, 
for  instructions  in  such  matters,  see  chapter  on  Propagation. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — But  little  can  be  done  in  most  of  the  northern 
states  as  yet,  and  in  sections  where  there  is  no  frost  in  the  ground, 
it  is  likely  to  be  too  wet  to  work,  but  in  many  southern  states  this 
will  be  the  best  month  for  planting  fruit-trees  and  plants  of  all 
kinds,  particularly  strawberries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  pear  and 
apple,  while  grape-vines  will  do  quite  a  month  later.  One  of  the 
greatest  wants  in  many  parts  of  the  south  is  reliable  nurseries, 
where  such  things  can  be  procured,  and  as  all  such  plants  are  at 
this  season  frozen  solid  in  nurseries  at  the  north,  orders  for  such 
things  cannot  usually  be  shipped  before  April ;  still  though  some- 
thing may  be  lost  by  this  circumstance,  if  proper  attention  is  given 
to  planting,  watering,  and  shading,  (when  practicable),  good  re- 


236  GARDENING  FOB   PLEASURE. 

suits  may  be  obtained,  as  it  is  always  better  to  take  plants  of  any 
kind  from  a  cold  climate  to  a  hot  one,  than  from  a  hot  to  a  cold. 
VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — Horse  manure,  leaves  from  the  woods,  or 
refuse  hops  from  the  breweries,  when  they  can  be  obtained,  may 
be  got  together  towards  the  latter  part  of  the  month  and  mixed 
and  turned  to  get  "  sweetened  "  preparatory  to  forming  hot-beds ; 
for  detailed  instructions  see  article  on  hot-beds.  Manure  that  is 
to  be  used  for  the  crops  should  be  turned  and  broken  up  as  fine  as 
possible,  for  it  should  be  known  that  the  more  completely  manure 
of  any  kind  can  be  mixed  with  the  soil,  the  better  will  be  the  crop, 
and  of  course  if  it  is  dug  or  plowed-in  hi  large  unbroken  lumps,  it 
cannot  be  properly  commingled. 

MARCH. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN.— Brighter  sunshine  and 
longer  days  will  now  begin  to  show  their  effects  by  a  rapid  growth 
of  plants  in  the  greenhouse,  and  also  in  those  of  the  parlor  or 
window  garden  ;  examine  all  plants  that  are  growing  vigorously 
and  are  healthy,  and  if  the  roots  have  struck  to  the  sides  of  the 
pot  and  matted  the  "  ball "  of  earth,  then  they  must  be  shifted  into 
larger  sized  pots ;  if  this  is  long  neglected  the  plants  are  certain  to 
suffer  in  consequence ;  for  details  of  operations  see  chapter  on 
Potting.  The  plants  propagated  last  month  may  now  need  shift- 
ing also,  and  propagation  should  continue  of  all  plants  that  are 
likely  to  be  wanted.  If  propagation  is  put  off  later,  most  plants 
would  not  be  large  enough  if  needed  for  bedding  purposes  in  the 
flower-garden  in  summer.  The  hardier  kinds  of  annuals  may  now 
be  sown  ;  it  is  best  done  in  boxes,  as  recommended  elsewhere. 
Lawns  may  now  be  raked  off  and  top-dressed  with  short  manure 
or  rich  garden  earth  where  manure  is  not  obtainable,  and  on  light 
soils  flower-beds  may  be  dug  up  so  as  to  forward  the  work  prepar- 
atory to  the  coming  of  the  busy  season. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — In  light,  dry  soils  planting  may  be  safely  done 
in  many  sections,  but  we  again  caution  the  inexperienced  not  to 
get  impatient  and  begin  to  plant  before  the  ground  is  dry ;  it  is 
bad  to  do  so  even  in  light  sandy  soils,  but  in  stiff  and  clayey  ones 
it  will  be  utter  destruction.  Again  at  this  season,  although  a  tree 
or  plant  will  receive  no  injury  when  its  roots  are  in  the  soil,  should 
a  frost  come  after  planting,  yet  that  same  amount  of  freezing 
would  greatly  injure  the  plant  if  the  roots  were  uncovered  and  ex- 
posed. Thousands  of  trees  and  plants  fail  every  year  from  this 


MONTHLY  CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.      237 

cause ;  they  are  exposed  for  sale  in  our  markets  with  no  protec- 
tion to  the  roots,  and  even  the  experienced  purchaser  rarely  has 
sufficient  knowledge  to  be  certain  whether  the  roots  of  a  tree  have 
been  injured  by  being  frozen  or  dried  up  by  the  cold  winds  of 
March.  It  is  always  best  when  it  can  be  done,  to  purchase  direct 
from  the  nearest  reliable  nurserymen  ;  they  well  know  the  import- 
ance of  having  the  roots  properly  protected,  while  in  two  cases  out 
of  three  the  market  huckster  neither  knows  nor  cares. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — This  is  a  busy  month.  Hot-beds  must 
now  be  all  started,  and  all  the  seeds  of  the  hardier  vegetables  may 
be  sown  in  locations  where  the  frost  is  out  and  the  ground  dry, 
the  list  given  for  southern  states  in  January  may  now  be  used  at 
the  north,  while  for  most  of  the  southern  states  the  tender  kinds 
of  vegetables  may  now  be  sown  and  planted,  such  as  egg-plant, 
okra,  melon,  sweet  potatoes,  squash,  tomatoes,  potatoes,  etc. 

APRIL. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — Plants  whether  grown 
in  greenhouse  or  in  windows,  will  require  increased  ventilation 
and  water  this  month,  and  as  they  will  now  be  growing  rapidly, 
due  attention  must  be  paid  to  shifting  into  larger  pots  when  neces- 
sary, and  also  increase  the  space  if  possible  by  putting  the  hardier 
sorts  out  in  frames.  If  plants  are  crowded  at  this  season  in  the 
greenhouse,  they  will  grow  spindling  and  weak.  It  is  better  to 
throw  away  the  common  or  coarser  plants  if  there  is  not  room  for 
the  finer  sorts  to  develop  properly.  Towards  the  end  of  the  month 
it  may  be  necessary  to  partially  shade  the  glass  of  the  greenhouse ; 
this  may  be  either  done  by  sheeting  hung  on  rollers  from  the  top, 
or  more  simply  and  cheaply  by  making  a  very  thin  whitewash  of 
lime ;  this  may  be  spattered  over  the  glass  very  lightly  at  first,  just 
to  mark  the  glass  with  white  spots  as  thick  as  if  a  slight  shower 
should  leave  the  marks  of  its  drops.  The  wash  is  to  be  spattered 
on  thicker  every  week  or  two,  as  the  season  advances.  The  plant- 
ing of  all  kinds  of  hardy  herbaceous  plants  and  shrubs  may  now 
be  done  in  the  flower-garden.  Bulbs  and  all  tender  plants  that 
have  been  covered  for  protection  in  winter  may  now  be  stripped, 
and  the  beds  slightly  forked  and  raked.  Sow  tender  annual  flower 
seeds  in  boxes. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — Strawberries  that  have  been  covered  up  by 
straw  or  leaves,  should  now  be  relieved  around  the  plant,  only 
leaving  the  covering  between  the  plants ;  see  chapter  on  Strawber- 


238  GARDENING   FOR  PLEASURE. 

ries.  Raspberries,  grape-vines,  etc.,  that  have  been  laid  down  may 
now  be  uncovered  and  tied  up  to  stakes  or  trellises,  and  all  new 
plantations  of  these  and  other  fruits  should  now  be  made. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — The  covering  of  asparagus,  rhubarb, 
spinach,  etc.,  should  uow  be  removed,  and  the  beds  hoed  or  dug 
lightly.  The  hardier  sorts  of  vegetable  seeds  and  plants,  such  as 
beets,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  celery,  lettuce,  onions,  parsley,  parsnip, 
peas,  potatoes,  radishes,  spinach,  turnip,  etc.,  should  all  be  sown 
or  planted  by  the  middle  of  the  month,  if  the  soil  is  dry  and 
warm,  and  in  all  cases  where  practicable  before  the  end  of  the 
month,  for  if  these  varieties  of  vegetables  are  delayed  until  the  hot 
weather  in  May,  they  will  not  be  so  early,  and  in  most  cases  will 
not  produce  so  fine  a  crop.  It  is  quite  a  common  practice  with 
many  amateurs  to  delay  garden  operations  of  all  kinds  until  May, 
but  all  the  hardier  sorts  of  vegetables  are  likely  to  be  later  and 
inferior  in  consequence.  Any  one  expecting  to  get  early  cabbage, 
lettuce,  or  radishes,  if  planting  or  sowing  is  delayed  until  the  time 
of  planting  tomato  and  egg  plants  hi  May,  is  certain  to  be  disap- 
pointed. 

MAT. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER  GARDEN.— The  majority  of  plants 
in  the  greenhouse  or  window  garden  should  now  be  in  their  finest 
bloom.  Firing  may  now  be  entirely  dispensed  with  in  the  green- 
house, though  care  must  yet  be  exercised  in  ventilating  in  the  first 
part  of  the  month,  as  we  still  have  cold  winds  in  this  section. 
By  the  end  of  the  month  all  of  the  plants  that  are  wanted  for  the 
summer  decoration  of  the  flower  borders  may  be  planted  out.  In 
doing  so,  when  the  ball  of  earth  has  been  completely  matted  with 
roots,  it  will  be  better  to  bruise  it  slightly  between  the  hands,  so 
that  the  water  will  pass  freely  through  the  "  ball,"  as  it  often  hap- 
pens that  it  is  so  hard  and  dry  as  to  prevent  the  water  from  pene- 
trating it,  and  the  growth  is  impeded  in  consequence.  Water  co- 
piously after  planting  if  the  weather  is  dry.  When  the  greenhouse 
is  not  to  be  used  during  the  summer  months,  camellias,  azaleas,  and 
plants  of  that  character  should  be  set  out-doors  under  partial 
shade,  but  most  of  the  other  plants  usually  kept  in  the  greenhouse 
or  window  garden  in  winter,  may  be  set  in  the  open  border,  where 
the  pots  should  be  plunged  to  the  rkn  in  ashes  or  sand,  keeping 
them  slightly  apart  from  each  other,  to  prevent  crowding.  Where 
there  are  indications  that  the  pot  has  become  filled  with  roots,  the 
plant  should  bo  shifted  into  a  size  larger  just  as  it  is  done  inside 


MONTHLY   CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.  239 

the  greenhouse ;  as  the  plants  make  growth,  they  with  few  excep- 
tions should  be  pinched  back  to  cause  a  stout  and  branching 
form.  Lawns  should  now  be  mown  and  edgings  trimmed 
nicely,  and  all  flower-beds  hoed  and  raked,  for  if  weeds  are  not 
kept  down  as  they  first  appear,  treble  the  labor  will  be  required  to 
eradicate  them  next  month.  Annuals  that  have  been  sown  in  the 
greenhouse  or  hot-bed  may  now  be  planted  out,  and  seeds  of  such 
sorts  as  Mignonette,  Sweet  Alyssum,  Phlox  Drainmondii,  Portu- 
laca,  etc.,  etc.,  may  be  sown  in  the  borders. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — Where  it  has  not  been  convenient  before,  most 
of  the  smaller  fruits  may  yet  be  planted  the  first  part  of  the  month. 
Ply  the  hoe  vigorously  to  keep  down  weeds.  If  any  of  the  nu- 
merous varieties  of  caterpillars,  slugs,  or  worms  make  their  appear- 
ance on  the  young  shoots  of  vines  or  trees,  a  free  application  of 
tobacco  dust  will  dislodge  most  of  them.  It  is  best  to  use  it  as  a 
preventive,  for  if  they  once  get  a  foothold,  the  crop  may  be  ruined. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN.— Thin  out  all  crops  sown  last  month, 
that  are  now  large  enough,  and  hoe  deeply  all  planted  crops,  such 
as  cabbage,  cauliflower,  lettuce,  etc.  Plant  out  all  tender  vegeta- 
bles, viz :  tomatoes,  egg  and  pepper  plants,  sweet  potatoes,  etc. 
Plant  seeds  of  lima  beans,  corn,  melons,  okra,  cucumbers,  etc.,  and 
succession  crops  of  peas,  spinach,  lettuce,  beans,  etc. 

JUNE. 

GREEEHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — The  greenhouse  may 
now  be  used  for  hot-house  or  tropical  plants,  if  such  'are  de- 
sired during  the  summer  months.  It  should  now  be  well  shaded 
and  fine  specimens  of  fancy  caladiums,  dracaanas,  palms,  ferns, 
and  such  plants  as  are  grown  for  their  beauty  of  foliage  will  make 
it  very  attractive.  Hyacinths,  Tulips,  and  other  spring  bulbs  may 
now  be  dug  up,  dried,  and  placed  away  for  next  fall's  planting, 
and  their  places  filled  with  such  plants  as  Coleus,  Achyranthes, 
and  the  various  "  white-leaved  plants  "  that  are  suited  for  late  bed- 
ding. Lawns  will  now  require  to  be  mowed  weekly  in  all  well- 
kept  places.  It  is  as  much  an  indication  of  slovenliness  to  see  a 
door-yard  that  has  any  pretensions  to  be  called  a  lawn,  with  the 
grass  uncut,  as  it  would  be  to  see  a  dust  begrimed  carpet  in  the 
parlor. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — If  strawberries  have  not  been  mulched  with 
hay  or  straw  in  winter,  the  cut  grass  from  the  lawn  is  a  convenient 
thing  to  place  between  the  rows  to  keep  the  fruit  from  getting 


240  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

sanded  by  dashing  rains.  Nearly  all  the  small  fruits,  such  as 
gooseberries,  raspberries,  etc.,  etc.,  are  much  improved  by  having 
a  mulching  of  some  sort  placed  around  the  roots,  which  should  be 
done  this  month. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — This  is  usually  the  busiest  month  in  the 
garden,  crops  mature  and  have  to  be  gathered,  and  while  doing 
so,  weeds  are  apt  to  steal  a  march  on  you,  and  may  destroy  entirely 
some  of  your  hard  work  of  former  months,  unless  you  attack  them 
in  their  embryo  stage,  that  is  just  when  breaking  through  the  soil. 
A  man  will  hoe  and  rake  over  six  times  the  surface  of  soil  when 
the  weeds  are  in  this  stage  that  he  would  if  weeds  were  six  inches 
high,  and  in  this  matter  more  than  anything  else  I  know  of  in 
gardening,  does  a  "  stitch  in  time  save  nine."  Beans,  peas,  beets, 
corn,  cucumbers,  lettuce,  etc.,  may  yet  be  sown  for  succession 
crops,  and  late  plantings  of  Irish  potatoes  and  sweet  potatoes  will 
yet  do  well  on  suitable  soils.  Tomatoes  should  be  tied  up  to  trel- 
lises or  stakes,  if  fine  flavored  and  handsome  fruit  is  desired. 

JULY. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — But  little  may  be  said  of 
the  greenhouse  this  month.  Watering,  ventilating,  and  fumigat- 
ing, (or  the  use  of  tobacco  in  other  forms  for  destruction  of  aphis), 
must  be  attended  to.  Keep  the  atmosphere  of  the  greenhouse 
moist.  The  plants  from  the  greenhouse  that  may  have  been 
plunged  out-doors,  must  be  watched  when  they  require  repotting, 
and  where  the  roots  have  run  through  the  pots,  they  should  also 
be  occasionally  turned  round,  to  break  them  off,  for  if  this  is 
not  done  now,  it  would  seriously  injure  the  plant  in  fall  when 
the  roots  have  run  through  the  pot  and  deep  into  the  soil,  as  they 
often  do.  Plants  such  as  dahlias,  roses,  gladioluses,  as  well  as 
many  herbaceous  perennial  and  annual  plants,  will  now  require 
staking ;  be  careful  to  proportion  the  size  of  the  stake  to  that  of 
the  plant,  and  do  riot  tie  it  too  tightly.  Stakes  painted  green  look 
best,  and  the  square  are  nearly  as  good  as  the  round  ones,  and 
much  cheaper.  Carnations  and  other  plants  that  are  throwing  up 
flower-stems,  if  wanted  to  flower  in  whiter,  should  be  cut  back. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — If  there  are  any  signs  of  mildew  on  the  grape- 
vine leaves,  dust  them  over  with  dry  sulphur,  choosing  a  still, 
warm  day.  The  fruit  will  now  be  gathered  from  the  strawberry 
vines,  and  if  new  beds  are  to  be  formed,  the  system  recommended 
of  layering  the  plants  in  small  pots  is  the  best ;  see  Strawberries. 


MONTHLY  CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.  241 

Where  apples,  pears,  peaches,  etc.,  have  set  fruit  thickly,  thin  out 
one-half  or  two-thirds  of  the  young  fruit,  as  by  doing  so  you  will 
get  at  least  an  equal  weight  and  much  finer  fruit.  The  same  is 
true  of  grape-vines  and  all  other  fruits  that  have  set  thickly; 
where  thinning  out  is  practicable,  it  will  always  be  beneficial  to 
practice  it. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — Plants  of  cabbages,  cauliflowers,  celery, 
and  all  similar  varieties  of  vegetables  wanted  for  fall  or  winter  use 
are  best  planted  this  month,  though  in  some  sections  they  will  do 
if  left  until  next.  See  directions  given  under  these  separate  heads. 
Sweet  corn,  beans,  cucumbers  and  lettuce  may  yet  be  planted  for 
late  crops,  and  in  some  sections  ruta-baga  turnips  for  the  main 
whiter  crop.  Tomatoes  should  be  kept  tied  up  to  stakes  or  trel- 
lises, and  sweet  potatoes  must  be  hoed  so  as  to  prevent  the  vines 
rooting  at  the  joints. 

AUGUST. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEIT. — The  instructions  for 
July  apply  with  but  little  variation  in  these  departments  this 
month. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — Strawberries  that  were  planted  in  spring,  and 
also  those  that  have  fruited  will  now  be  making  "  runners "  or 
young  plants  freely.  All  runners  should  be  kept  cut  off  close  to 
the  old  plant,  so  that  the  full  force  of  the  root  is  expended  in  ma- 
turing the  " crowns"  or  fruit  buds  of  the  next  season's  crop.  If 
plants  are  wanted  for  fresh  plantations,  about  the  required  number 
can  be  allowed  to  run,  but  should  be  layered  in  pots,  as  recom- 
mended under  Strawberries.  Cut  away  the  old  stems  of  raspber- 
ries and  blackberries  that  have  borne  their  fruit,  and  thin  out  the 
young  shoots  to  three  or  four  canes  to  each  hill  or  plant,  if  tied  to 
stakes  and  topped  when  4  or  5  feet  high,  they  will  make  stronger 
canes  for  fruiting  next  year. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN.— Planted  crops,  such  as  cabbage,  cauli- 
flower, and  celery,  should  be  hoed  deeply.  We  do  not  recom- 
mend the  earthing  up  of  celery  this  month.  Onions  will  in  many 
sections  now  be  ready  for  harvesting;  this  condition  will  be 
known  by  the  tops  becoming  yellow  and  falling  down ;  they  are 
best  dried  by  placing  them  in  some  dry  shed  hi  thin  layers.  For 
sweet  potatoes,  see  directions  of  last  month.  Spinach  may  be 
sown  for  early  fall  use,  but  it  is  yet  too  early  to  sow  for  the  winter 
crop.  Bed-top,  White  Globe,  and  Yellow  Aberdeen  turnips  should 
11 


242  GARDENING  FOR   PLEASURE. 

now  be  sown.     Ruta-baga  turnips  sown  last  month   will  need 
thinning. 

SEPTEMBER. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN.— Towards  the  end  of  the 
month  in  many  sections,  the  more  tender  plants  will  require  to  be 
put  in  the  greenhouse,  or  housed  in  some  way,  but  be  careful  to 
keep  them  as  cool  as  possible  during  the  day ;  they  would  be  bet- 
ter outside  yet  if  it  was  safe  to  risk  them.  Cuttings  of  all  bedding 
plants  may  now  be  made  freely,  if  wanted  for  next  season,  as  the 
young  cuttings  rooted  in  fall  make  better  plants  for  next  spring's 
use  than  the  old  plants.  This  is  true  of  what  is  known  as  bedding 
plants,  such  as  geraniums,  fuchsias,  verbenas,  heliotropes,  etc.,  etc. 
But  with  roses  and  other  plants  of  a  woody  nature,  the  old  plants 
are  usually  the  best.  Holland  bulbs,  such  as  hyacinths,  tulips, 
etc.,  etc.,  and  most  of  the  varieties  of  lilies  may  be  planted  this 
month ;  see  detailed  instructions  under  Holland  Bulbs.  Violets 
that  are  wanted  for  winter  will  now  be  growing  freely,  and  the 
runners  should  be  trimmed  off  as  recommended  for  strawberries 
last  month.  Seeds  of  pansies,  daisies,  mignonette,  sweet  alyssum, 
candytuft,  etc.,  should  now  be  sown  hi  the  early  part  of  the  month. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — New  plantations  of  strawberry  plants  may 
now  be  made  from  the  runners  that  have  been  layered  in  pots ;  the 
sooner  in  the  month  they  are  planted,  the  stronger  they  will  be  for 
next  season ;  these  plants  will  soon  make  runners  that  must  be 
trimmed  off  to  throw  the  strength  into  the  crowns  for  next  season's 
fruiting.  Attend  to  raspberries  and  blackberries  as  advised  last 
month,  if  not  then  done. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — Seeds  of  cabbage,  cauliflower,  and  let- 
tuce to  raise  plants  to  be  placed  in  cold  frames,  should  be  sown  in 
this  latitude  from  the  10th  to  the  20th  of  this  month ;  the  main 
crop  of  spinach  or  sprouts  that  is  wanted  for  winter  or  spring  use, 
should  be  sown  about  same  dates.  Celery  may  now  have  the 
earth  drawn  to  it  with  the  hoe  preparatory  to  earthing-up  by  the 
spade.  Onions  that  were  not  dried  and  harvested  last  month, 
must  be  done  this,  or  it  will  be  too  late.  The  early  or  flat  sorts  of 
turnips  may  yet  be  sown  the  first  week  of  this  month. 

OCTOBER. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN.— In  almost  all  northern 
localities,  all  tender  plants  yet  outside  should  be  got  under  cover 


MONTHLY  CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.      243 

the  early  part  of  this  month.  Avoid  the  use  of  fire  heat  as 
long  as  possible ;  unless  the  nights  become  cold  enough  to  chill  the 
plants  inside  of  the  house,  they  are  better  without  fire  heat.  When 
there  is  indication  that  the  night  is  likely  to  be  cold,  let  down  the 
sashes  that  have  been  raised  for  ventilation,  early  in  the  afternoon, 
and  thus  shut  up  the  heated  air  until  next  day.  If  there  is  a  cold 
frame  or  pit  at  hand,  the  hardier  sorts  of  plants,  such  as  roses,  car- 
nations, camellias,  azaleas,  etc. ,  will  do  better  if  placed  there  until 
middle  of  November,  than  in  the  ordinary  greenhouse.  Treated 
in  this  manner  they  make  strong,  healthy  roots,  that  enable  them 
to  withstand  the  forcing  process  better  when  placed  in  the  green- 
house. Look  out  for  and  destroy  insects ;  see  methods  already 
given.  The  planting  of  fall  bulbs  of  all  kinds  may  continue  dur- 
ing this  month.  Dahlias,  tuberoses,  gladiolus,  cannas,  caladiums, 
tigridias,  and  all  tender  bulbs  or  tubers  that  are  planted  in  spring, 
should  be  taken  up  before  the  end  of  the  month,  dried  and  stowed 
away  in  some  place  free  from  frost  during  winter. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — Strawberries  that  have  been  layered  in  pots 
may  yet  be  planted  this  month ;  great  care  should  be  taken  to  trim 
off  runners  from  early  plantings.  All  kinds  of  fruit-trees  and  shrubs 
may  be  set  out ;  if  planting  is  deferred  to  the  last  of  the  month, 
the  ground  around  the  roots  should  be  mulched  to  the  thickness  of 
three  or  four  inches,  with  leaves,  straw,  or  rough  manure,  as  a 
protection  to  the  roots  against  the  frost. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — This  is  one  of  the  busiest  fall  months  in 
the  kitchen  garden,  celery  will  now  be  in  full  growth,  and  will  re- 
quire close  attention  to  earthing-up,  and  during  the  last  part  of  the 
month,  the  first  lot  may  be  stored  away  in  trenches  for  winter; 
see  Celery;  beets,  carrots,  parsnips,  squash,  sweet  potatoes,  and  all 
other  roots  not  designed  to  be  left  in  the  ground  during  winter, 
should  be  dug  by  the  end  of  the  month.  The  cabbage,  cauliflower, 
and  lettuce  plants  from  the  seed  sown  about  the  middle  of  last 
month,  should  now  be  pricked  out  in  cold  frames.  If  lettuce  is 
wanted  for  winter  use,  it  may  be  now  planted  in  the  greenhouse, 
and  will  be  ready  for  use  by  Christmas.  Rhubarb  and  asparagus, 
if  wanted  for  use  in  winter,  should  be  taken  up  in  large  clumps 
and  stowed  away  in  pit,  frame,  shed,  or  cellar  for  a  month  or  two, 
when  it  may  be  taken  into  the  greenhouse  and  packed  closely  to- 
gether under  the  stage,  and  will  be  fit  for  use  from  January  to 
March,  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  house. 


£44  GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


NOVEMBER. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. —All  plants  should  now 
be  in-doors;  a  sharp  look-out  must  be  kept  for  cold  snaps. 
These  often  come  very  unexpectedly  in  November,  and  as  many 
plants  are  injured  by  frost  in  this  as  there  are  in  the  colder 
months,  when  the  enemy  is  more  closely  watched  for.  When  fire 
heat  is  freely  used,  be  careful  to  keep  up  the  proper  supply  of 
moisture  by  syringing,  sprinkling  the  paths,  etc.  In  the  flower- 
garden  nothing  is  now  to  be  done  except  to  clean  off  dead  stalks 
and  straw  up  tender  roses,  vines,  etc.,  and  wherever  there  is  time, 
to  dig  up  and  rake  the  borders,  as  it  will  greatly  facilitate 
spring  work.  All  beds  where  hyacinths  or  other  fall  bulbs  have 
been  planted,  had  better  be  covered  with  rough  litter  or  leaves 
to  the  depth  of  two  or  three  inches.  If  short,  thoroughly  de- 
cayed manure  can  be  spared,  a  good  sprinkling  spread  over  the 
lawn  will  help  it  to  a  finer  growth  in  spring. 

FRUIT-GARDEN. — In  cold  sections  the  hay  or  straw  mulching 
recommended  in  the  chapter  on  the  Strawberry  may  be  put  on 
during  the  last  of  this  month.  Grape-vines  and  fruit-trees  gener- 
ally should  be  pruned,  and  if  wood  of  the  vine  is  wanted  for  cut- 
tings, or  cions  of  fruit-trees  for  grafts,  they  should  be  tied  in  small 
neat  bunches  and  buried  in  the  ground  until  spring. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN. — All  celery  that  is  to  be  stored  for 
winter  use,  should  be  put  away  before  the  end  of  the  month  in  all 
places  north  of  Richmond,  Va. ;  south  of  that  it  may  be  left  in 
most  places  hi  the  rows  where  grown  if  covered  up.  Directions 
for  storing  celery  for  whiter  are  given  under  Celery.  The 
stalks  of  asparagus  beds  should  be  cut  over,  and  as  asparagus  some- 
times becomes  a  weed,  it  is  better  to  burn  the  stems  if  there  are 
berries  on  them.  Spread  a  heavy  dressing  of  rough  manure  three 
or  four  inches  thick  on  the  beds.  All  roots  that  are  yet  in  the 
ground  and  not  designed  to  be  left  there  all  winter,  must  be  dug 
up  in  this  latitude  before  the  middle  of  the  month,  or  they  may  be 
frozen  in  until  spring ;  onions,  spinach,  sprouts,  cabbage,  or  lettuce 
plants  that  are  outside  should  be  covered  with  two  or  three  inches 
of  leaves,  salt  hay,  or  straw,  to  protect  during  winter.  Cabbages 
that  have  headed  may  be  usually  preserved  against  injury  by  frost 
until  the  middle  of  next  month,  by  simply  pulling  them  up  and 
packing  them  close  together  in  a  dry  spot  in  the  open  field  with 
the  heads  down,  and  roots  up ;  on  the  approach  of  cold  weather  in 
December,  they  should  be  covered  up  with  leaves  as  high  as  the  tops 


MONTHLY  CALENDAR  OF  OPERATIONS.      245 

of  the  roots,  or  if  the  soil  is  light,  it  may  be  thrown  over  them  if 
leaves  are  not  convenient;  cabbages  so  packed  will  keep  until 
March,  if  the  covering  has  not  been  put  on  too  early.  Whenever 
it  is  practicable,  all  empty  ground  should  be  dug  or  plowed  this 
month,  trenching  or  subsoiling  whenever  time  will  permit.  All 
such  operations  when  performed  in  the  fall,  not  only  benefit  the 
soil,  but  greatly  facilitate  work  at  the  hurried  season  in  the  spring. 
The  cold  frames  where  cabbage,  lettuce,  or  cauliflower  plants  have 
been  planted  will  now  require  regular  ventilation  by  lifting  up  the 
sashes  in  warm  days,  and  on  the  approach  of  very  cold  weather, 
straw  mats  or  shutters  would  be  a  great  protection  to  the  plants ; 
for  the  cauliflower  this  protection  is  absolutely  necessary  here. 

DECEMBER. 

GREENHOUSE  AND  FLOWER-GARDEN. — We  are  now  fairly  into 
whiter,  and  close  attention  must  be  given  to  protecting  all 
tender  plants.  It  is  one  of  the  commonest  complaints,  especially 
from  ladies,  that  their  plants  "  looked  so  nice  until  one  cold  night 
in  December  "  defeated  the  whole  care  of  the  year  by  killing  or 
wounding  hundreds  of  the  cherished  favorites  of  the  greenhouse 
or  window  garden.  There  is  no  rule  but  vigilance,  and  as  extra 
strong  fires  will  be  kept  up,  look  out  again  nightly  for  all  combus- 
tible matter  near  the  flue  or  chimney.  If  you  find  the  thermom- 
eter in  the  greenhouse  or  parlor  where  your  plants  are  kept,  falling 
down  to  34  or  35  degrees,  the  chances  are  that  there  will  be  frost 
in  the  house ;  the  best  protection  in  such  cases  is  either  to  set  the 
plants  under  the  benches  or  on  the  walk  if  in  the  greenhouse,  or 
move  them  from  the  cold  point  if  in  the  parlor;  if  the  plants 
are  low  and  uniform  in  hight,  covering  them  with  paper  or 
sheeting  will  usually  save  them  from  injury  even  if  the  thermom- 
eter falls  to  26  or  28  degrees.  Another  plan  is  to  dash  water  on 
the  pipes  or  flue  in  the  greenhouse  on  cold  nights,  the  steam  arises 
to  the  glass,  freezes  there,  and  stops  up  all  crevices.  All  mulching, 
strawing  up,  or  other  modes  of  protecting  against  frost  in  use  in 
the  flower-garden,  must  be  finished  this  month. 

FRUIT-GARDEN.— Grape-vines,  raspberries,  etc.,  hi  sections  where 
protection  from  severe  frost  is  of  advantage,  should  be  attended 
to  this  month,  by  laying  them  down  as  near  the  ground  as  possi- 
ble, and  covering  them  with  rough  litter  or  leaves,  or  with  a  few 
inches  of  soil. 

VEGETABLE  GARDEN.— The  final  covering  of  celery  in  trenches, 


246  GARDENING   FOB   PLEASURE. 

or  roots  in  pits ;  the  spinach  crop  in  ground,  or  any  other  article 
in  need  of  protection,  must  have  it  done  before  the  end  of  this 
month.  Manure  and  compost  heaps  should  now  be  forwarded  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  turned  and  mixed  so  as  to  be  hi  proper 
condition  for  spring.  Snow  that  accumulates  on  cold  frames  or 
other  glass  structures,  should  be  removed,  particularly  if  the  soil 
that  the  glass  covers  was  not  frozen  before  the  snow  fell ;  if  frozen, 
it  may  remain  on  the  sashes  longer,  for  the  plants  if  frozen  are,  of 
course  dormaot,  and  would  not  be  injured  by  being  deprived  of 
light  for  eight  or  ten  days. 


INDEX. 


Angle  Worm 119 

Annual  Flowers 112 

Annual  Flowers,  List  of 112 

Ants 118 

Aphis,  Destroying 64 

Aphis,  Ground  or  Blue 117 

Apple 170 

Apple,  Varieties  of 171 

Apricot 170 

Apricot,  Varieties  of 170 

Artichoke,  Globe 180 

Artichoke,  Jerusalem 181 

Asparagus 178 

Basket  Balloon  Frame 73 

Basket,  Wire 73 

Baskets,  Hanging  72 

Bean,  Bush 181 

Bean,  Lima 182 

Bean,  Pole 182 

Bedding,  "  Carpet  Style  "of, 31 

Beet 183 

Blackberry 161 

Blackberry,  Varieties  of 162 

Bone-Dust 22 

Borecole  or  Kale 184 

Boxes  for  Seeds ; 40 

Broccoli 185 

Brussels  Sprouts 186 

Budding 47-56 

Bulbs,  Fall  or  Holland 36 

Bulbs  in  Moss 37 

Bulbs  in  Pots 36-37 

Bulbs,  Tropical 58 

Cabbage 189 

Caladiums,  Growing 58 

Camellias,  Grafting 52-55 

Camellias,  Propagating 44 

Carrot 190 

Cauliflower 187 

Celeriac 195 

Celery 191 

Cellar  and  Greenhouse  Combined. .  99 
Centaureas,  Propagating 39 

247 


Chard,  Swiss 21? 

Cherry 165 

Cherry,  Varieties  of 166 

Chives 196 

Climbers,  List  of  Hardy 106 

Cordon  Training  of  Pear  Trees — 172 

Corn 196 

Corn  Salad 196 

Cress 196 

Cress,  Indian 207 

Cress,  Water 196 

Crocuses,  Planting 36 

Cucumber 197 

Currants 162 

Currants,  Varieties  of 163 

Cuttings,  Propagating  Plants  by . . .  43 

Cuttings,  Proper  Condition  of 43 

Cyclamen,  Propagating 39 

Designs  for  Gardens..  27 

Double  Flue 94 

Drain,  Board 12 

Drain  for  Eoad-bed 16 

Drain,  Bubble 11 

Drain  Tile 11 

Driveway 15 

Drive,  Width  of 15 

Egg  Plant 198 

Endive 199 

Ferneries 83 

Fertilizers,  Adulteration  of 20 

Fertilizers,  Concentrated 18 

Fertilizers,  Cost  of 19 

Fertilizers,  Special 21 

Figs 164 

Figs,  Varieties  of 165 

Flowers,  Annual 60 

Flowers  for  Shady  Spots 1 14 

Flowers,  Law  of  Color  in 128 

Flower-Bed,  Ornamental 35 

Flower-Bed,  Scroll-Pattern  for 34 

Flower-Beds,  Carpet  Style  of 33 

Flower-Beds,  Designs  for 31 

Flower-Stands 81 


248 


GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


Flue,  Double 94 

Flue,  Heating  by 93 

Garden,  Drainage  of 10 

Garden,  Preparation  of  Ground  for.  13 

Garden,  Protection  by  Hedges 10 

Garden,  Soil  and  Location 9 

Garden,  Vegetable 177 

Garden  Walks 14 

Gardens,  Designs  for 25 

Gardening,  Cottage 175 

Gardening,  Parlor 77 

Gardening,  Window 75 

Garlic 200 

Glasses  for  Hyacinths 38 

Glazing 145 

Gooseberry 168 

Gooseberry,  Varieties  of 164 

Graft,Side 54 

Graft,Whip 64 

Grafting 47_53 

Grafting-Wax 55 

Grape  Cuttings 143 

Grapes,  Hardy 133 

Grapes,  Pruning  and  Training. ...  139 

Grapes,  Varieties  of 143 

Grapery 90 

Grapery,  Cold 144 

Grapery,  Hot-House 150 

Grapery,  Lean-to 146 

Grasses,  Ornamental Ill 

Grass-Seed  for  Lawn 24 

Grass-Seed,  Mixing  Oats  with 25 

Greenhouse  and  Cellar  Combined..  101 
Greenhouse  Attached  to  Dwellings.  87 

Greenhouse,  Detached 90 

Greenhouse  Plants,  List  of. 79 

"  Green  Fly,"  Killing 64 

Guano,  How  to  Use 18 

Guano,  Mixing  with  Earth 18 

Guano,  Peruvian 22 

Guano,  Quantity  to  Apply 19 

Hanging-Baskets,  Filling 74 

"  Hay-Seed  "  for  Lawn 24 

Heating  by  Double  Flues .  94 

Heating  by  Hot  Water 95 

Hedges  for  Protecting  Gardens 10 

Herbaceous  Perennials,  Hardy 107 

Herbaceous  Perennials,  Hardy,  List 

of 109 

Herbs,  Sweet 199 

Horseradish 200 

Hot-Beds 102 

Hot-Beds,  Ventilating 103 


Hot-House  or  Forcing  Grapery 150 

Hot-House  Plants,  List  of 80 

House,  Approach  to 15 

Hyacinths  in  Glasses 33 

Hyacinths,  Planting 35 

Implements,  Garden 223 

Digging  Fork 224 

Draw  Hoe 225 

Excelsior  Pump 230 

Excelsior  Weeding-Hook 231 

Flower  Gatherers 226 

Garden  Roller.. 227 

Garden  Syringe 229 

Garden  Trowel 226 

Grape  Scissors 226 

Grass  Edging  Knife 228 

Hand-Glasses 231 

Hand-Pruning  Shears 229 

Hedge  Shears 229 

Ladies  Garden  Tools. 231 

Lawn  Mowers 227 

Lawn  Scythes 226 

Manure  Fork - 224 

Noyes1  Hand-Weeder 231 

Pole-Pruning  Shears 229 

Prong  Hoe 225 

Pruning  and  Budding  Knives226 

Pruning  Saw 226 

Push  Hoe 225 

Rake 227 

Reel  and  Line 225 

Shovel 224 

Sickle 228 

Sidney  Seed-Sower 230 

Spade 224 

Step-Ladders 231 

Trellises 232 

Watering-Pot 230 

Wheelbarrow 223 

Wooden  Lawn  Rake 227 

Insects 115 

Angle  Worm 119 

Ants 118 

Brown  and  White  Scale 119 

Green  Fly 116 

Ground  or  Blue  Aphis 117 

Mealy  Bug 65,118 

Red  Spider. 118 

Rose  Bug 116 

Rose  Slug 116 

Thrips 119 

Instructions,  General 222 

Jardinieres .82 


INDEX. 


249 


Kohlrabi 201 

Lath  Screens 126 

Lawn 22 

Lawn,  Grass-Seed  for 24 

Lawn,  Sodding  a 23 

Lawns,  Planting 30 

Lawn-Mowers 23 

Layering,  Propagation  by 46 

Leek 201 

Lettuce 202 

Lily  of  the  Valley,  Forcing 84 

Location  of  Garden 9 

Manures 16 

Martynia    202 

Mealy  Bug 65 

Mealy  Bug,  Destroying 65 

Melon,  Musk 202 

Melon,  Water 20-3 

Mildew 120 

Mulching 122 

Mushrooms .. 204 

Mustard..... 204 

Narcissuses,  Planting 36 

Nasturtium 207 

Nectarines 169 

Nectarines,  Varieties  of 169 

Oats  with  Grass  Seed 25 

Okra 207 

Onions  208 

Parsley 208 

Parsnips 209 

Pea 209 

Peach 168 

Peach,  Varieties  of 168 

Pears 171 

Pears,  Varieties  of 172 

Pear-Trees,  Cordon-Trained 172 

Pepper 211 

Pepper  Grass 196 

Pit,  Sunken 98 

Pits  without  Artificial  Heat 98 

Plant  Protector,  Bryants' 197 

Plants  for  Summer  Decoration 69 

Plants  for  Wardian  Cases 83 

Plants,  Frozen 121 

Plants,  Growing  from  Cuttings 42 

Plants,  Growing  from  Seeds 39 

Plants,  Hot-House 63 

Plants  in  Eooms 124 

Plants,  Potting 60 

Plants,  Potting    from    the    Open 

Ground 78 

Plants,  Temperature  for 80 


Plants,  Unhealthy 67 

Plants,  Winter  Flowering 62 

Planting  in  Circles x. 31-53 

Planting  Flower-Beds 30 

Plant-Stand,  Folding 81 

Plum 166 

Plum,  Varieties  of 167 

Potato 211 

Potato,  Sweet 219 

Pots,  Draining 67 

Pots  for  Plants 61 

Pots  for  Plants,  Size  of 60 

Pots,  "Plunging" 79 

Potting  Plants 60 

Propagation  by  Layering 40 

Propagating,  "  Saucer  System  "  of.  44 

Propagating  Woody  Plants 44 

Propagating  by  Cuttings 43 

Propagating  by  Seeds 39 

Pruning  for  Shape 187 

Pruning  Grape-vines 141 

Pruning  Hot-House  Grapes 148 

Pruning,  Spur 140 

Pumpkin 211 

Quince 165 

Quince,  Varieties  of 165 

Radish 212 

Raspberry 158 

Raspberry,  Varieties  of 160 

Raspberries,  Black  Cap 161 

Raspberries,  Black  Caps,  Varieties 

of 161 

Red  Spider 65 

Re-potting  Plants 61 

Rhubarb 212 

Road  Drain 16 

Rose  Bug 116 

Rose  Slug 116 

Roses,  Propagating 44 

Salsify 213 

Salsify,  Black 214 

Saucers  for  Pots 81 

Scale,  Brown  and  White 119 

Scorzonera 214 

Screens  for  Plants 126 

Sea  Kale 215 

Seeds,  Tropical 59 

Seeds,  Annual 112 

Seeds,  Propagation  of  Plants  from.  39 

Seedlings,  Damping  off 41 

Shading 125 

Shallots ..215 

Shoots,  "Blind" -  ..  44 


250 


GARDENING  FOR  PLEASURE. 


Shrubs,  Lists  of 104 

Smoke-flue 93 

Soil  for  Seeds 40 

Soil,  Potting 60 

Spinach 216 

Spinach,  New  Zealand 217 

Spinach,  Substitutes  for 217 

Squash 218 

Strawberry,  Forcing 157 

Strawberry,  Growing 153 

Strawberry  Runners  in  Pots 154 

Strawberry,  Varieties  of 157 

Sweet  Potato 219 

Thrips 119 

Tobacco- Water  for  Plants 64 

Tomato 221 

Tomato  Seeds,  Starting 59 

Trees,  List  of  Evergreen 106 

Trees,  Pruning  Fruit 133 

Tulips,  Planting 36 


Turnips 221 

Walks,  Garden 14 

Wardian  Cases 82 

Wash  for  Glass 127 

Watering  Potted  Plants 62 

Window  Box 67 

Worm,  Angle 119 

Monthly  Calendar  of  Operations. .  .234 

January 234 

February "••....235 

March 236 

April 237 

May 238 

June 339 

July 240 

August 241 

September 242 

October 242 

November 244 

December 245 


GARDENING   FOR  PROFIT: 

A  GUIDE  TO  THE  SUCCESSFUL  CULTIVATION  OF  THE 

MARKET  AND  FAMILY  GARDEN. 

BY  PETER  HENDERSON. 


This  work  has  had  a  constant  and  remarkable  sale  ever  since  it  was  issued,  and 
the  later  enlarged  and  revised  edition  is  as  well  received  as  was  the  first.  It  was 
the  first  work  on  Market  Gardening  ever  published  in  this  country.  Its  author  is 
well  known  as  a  market  gardener  of  many  years1  successful  experience.  In  this 
work  he  has  recorded  this  experience,  and  given  without  reservation,  the  methods 
necessary  to  the  profitable  culture  of  the 


It  is  a  work  for  which  there  was  an  urgent  demand  before  its  issue,  and  one 
which  commends  itself,  not  only  to  those  who  grow  vegetables  for  sale,  but  to  the 
cultivator  of  the 


to  whom  it  presents  methods  quite  different  from  the  old  ones  generally  practiced. 
It  i  s  an  ORIGINAL  AND  PURELY  AMERICAN  work,  and  not  made  up  as  books  on  gar- 
dening too  often  are,  by  quotations  from  foreign  authors. 

Every  thing  is  made  perfectly  plain,  and  the  subject  treated  in  all  its  details, 
from  the  selection  of  the  soil  to  preparing  the  products  for  market. 

CONTENTS. 

Men  fitted  for  the  Business  of  Gardening. 

The  Amount  of  Capital  Required,  and 

"Working  Force  per  Acre. 

Profits  of  Market  Gardening. 

Location,  Situation,  and  Laying  Out. 

Soils,  Drainage,  and  Preparation. 

Manures,   Implements. 

"Uses  and  Management  of  Cold  Frames. 

Formation  and  Management  of  Hot-beds. 

Forcing  Pits  or  Greenhouses. 

Seeds  and  Seed  Raising. 

How,  "When,  and  "Where  to  Sow  Seeds. 

Transplanting  Insects. 

Packing  of  Vegetables  for  Shipping. 

Preservation  of  Vegetables  in  "Winter. 

Vegetables,  their  Varieties  and  Cultivation. 

In  the  last  chapter,  the  most  valuable  kinds  are  described,  and  tho  culture 
proper  to  each  is  given  in  detail. 

Sent  post-paid,    price   $I.5O. 
ORANGE   JTTDD  COMPANY,   751   Broadway,  New-York; 


PRACTICAL  FLORICULTURE; 

A  Gkdde  to  the  Successful  Propagation  and  Cultivation 

OF 

FLORISTS'  PLANTS.' 

Bv  PETEK  HENDERSON,  BERGEN  Cm,  N.  J., 

ATTTHOB  Or  *48UOKNINO  FOB  PBOTIT." 


MR.  HENDERSON  is  known  as  the  largest  Commercial  Florist 
m  the  country.  In  the  present  work  he  gives  a  fall  account  of  hu 
modes  of  propagation  and  cultivation.  It  is  adapted  to  the  want* 
of  the  amateur,  as  well  as  the  professional  grower. 

The  eoope  of  the  work  may  be  judged  from  the  following 

TABLE  Of  CONTENTS. 


Aspect  asd  Soil. 

Laying  out  Lawn  and  Flow- 
er Gardens. 

Designs  for  Flower  Gardens. 

Planting  of  Flower  Beds. 

Soils  for  Potting. 

Temperature  and  Moisture. 

The  Potting  of  Plants. 

CDld  Frames— Winter  Pro- 
tection. 

Construction  of  Hot-Beds. 

Greenhouse  Structures. 

Modes  of  Heating. 

Propagation  by  Seeds. 

Propagation  by  Cuttings. 

l*ropagation  of  Lilies. 

Uulture  of  the  Rose. 

Culture  of  the  Verbena. 

Onltnre  of  the  rnberose 


Orchid  Culture. 
Holland  Bulbs. 
Cape  Bulbs. 

Winter-Flowering  Plants. 
Construction  of  Bouquets. 
Hanging  Baskets. 
Window  Gardening. 
Rock-Work. 
Insects. 

Nature's  Law  of  Colors. 
Packing  Plants. 
Plants  by  Mail 
Profits  of  Floriculture. 
Soft- Wooded  Plants. 
Annrals. 

Hardy  Herbaceous  Plants. 
Greenhouse  Plants. 
Diary  of  Operations  for  each 
Day  of  the  Year. 


Beautifully  Illustrated.  Sent  post-paid.  Price,  $1,50, 

ORANGE    JUDD    COMPANY, 

751    Broadway,  New-York. 


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